Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Coordination Framework (CF) has suspended its formal meetings until consensus is reached on the country’s next prime minister, a political source told Shafaq News on Sunday.

Efforts are underway to arrange a meeting between Nouri al-Maliki, head of the State of Law Coalition, and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. The initiative, mediated by Faleh al-Fayyadh, leader of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), seeks to ease tensions between the two CF figures, as both continue to insist on their candidacy for the post.

If the meeting takes place and produces an understanding, CF Secretary-General Hadi al-Amiri is expected to name the bloc’s nominee for the premiership. If no deal is reached, discussions will likely shift toward smaller, more focused gatherings rather than the broader sessions previously held by the Framework.

Earlier CF meetings, which holds around 162 of parliament’s 329 seats, centered on potential compromise figures, including Haider al-Abadi and Ihsan al-Awadi, yet no agreement materialized.

The alliance has repeatedly failed to unite behind a single nominee. Under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing arrangement, the presidency goes to a Kurd, the premiership to a Shiite, and the speakership to a Sunni Arab. Parliament elected Nizar Amedi as president on April 11, triggering the process to select a prime minister. The Framework faces its constitutional deadline today to present a candidate, after which the nominee has 30 days to form a government and secure parliamentary confidence under Article 76 of the constitution.

Read more: Coordination Framework: Can govern Iraq, but cannot agree on a PM