ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework is set to hold a decisive meeting on Saturday evening to finalize its nominee for prime minister, as political factions race against a constitutional deadline to agree on a candidate, according to senior political figures.
Ali al-Daffayi, spokesperson for the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, and Abu Mithaq Masari of the Badr Organization confirmed the talks, telling Rudaw that the Coordination Framework will meet on Saturday night to settle on a candidate for the position of Prime Minister of Iraq.
The meeting, scheduled for 8:00 pm, is expected to focus on two leading contenders.
“Both Ihsan al-Awadi and Bassem al-Badri are candidates for the Prime Minister post, and it is likely that one of them will be officially nominated,” Daffayi said.
The Framework initially put forward former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki as its candidate, but US President Donald Trump firmly rejected his candidacy, saying Washington would “no longer help Iraq” if he were elected.
Iraq held legislative elections in early November, and in late December, parliament elected its speaker and two deputies.
Parliament on April 11 elected the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) nominee, Nizar Amedi, as president. Under the constitution, once sworn in, the president has up to 15 days to task the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc - the Coordination Framework - with forming a government.
The chosen candidate must then present a cabinet and government program to parliament within 30 days for a vote of confidence.
Awadi has been put forward by the Build and Development Alliance led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, while Badri is backed by the State of Law Coalition headed by Maliki. The ruling Shiite bloc failed to reach consensus during a meeting held Friday night at the residence of Islamic Supreme Council leader Humam Hamoudi in Baghdad.
Khalid al-Walid, a member of the Build and Development Alliance, criticized earlier efforts to advance compromise figures.
“In the previous stage, there were attempts to approve candidates who did not have national acceptance,” he told Rudaw on Saturday, adding that attempts to push a “consensus candidate” have so far failed to secure sufficient backing either within the Coordination Framework or in parliament.
Walid reaffirmed his bloc’s support for its nominee, stressing, “the matter of Sudani's candidacy remains active and we will not withdraw it, as he represents the primary winner of this election. His selection would be a positive and direct message to the people who voted.”
He warned that time is running out to resolve the deadlock.
“There is still an opportunity to correct the course within the Coordination Framework and finalize the decision before the deadline ends on Sunday,” Walid said, cautioning that failure to agree could leave parliament with “open-ended options” that risk deepening Iraq’s political crisis.
Nahro Mohammed contributed to this report from Erbil, Kurdistan Region.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment