Coordination Framework leaders negotiate Iraq’s next PM nomination

Shafaq News– Baghdad

The Al-Hikma (Wisdom) Movement head Ammar Al-Hakim and former premier Nouri Al-Maliki, leader of the State of Law Coalition, reviewed on Sunday the nomination of Iraq’s next prime minister.

A statement from Al-Hakim’s media office indicated that both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to completing the nomination process within constitutional timelines. They also pointed to the need to reinforce the Coordination Framework (CF) —a coalition of Shiite political parties to which both figures belong— casting it as a pillar of national stability.

A source previously briefed Shafaq News that the CF is scheduled to convene on Monday to nominate Al-Maliki as the next prime minister, while another source told our agency that disagreements over a “controversial” nominee prompted the cancellation of a framework meeting planned for Saturday. Although the individual was not identified, political sources linked the tensions to the prospect of Al-Maliki’s return, a bid that faces resistance from Al-Hikma, alongside objections raised by the Sadiqoon bloc and the Badr Organization, both CF members.

Under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing system, the presidency is allocated to a Kurd, the premiership to a Shiite Arab, and the speakership of parliament to a Sunni Arab. CF-aligned forces control around 180 of the 329 seats in parliament, giving the alliance decisive leverage over the formation of the next government.