Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Coordination Framework intensified negotiations over government formation with a meeting at the residence of State of Law Coalition leader Nouri Al-Maliki, following a gathering on selecting a prime ministerial candidate, a political source told Shafaq News on Saturday.

The meeting brought together Al-Maliki, the senior CF figure Amer Al-Fayez, the leader of the Foundation (Al-Asas) bloc Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, and Secretary-General of Kataib SayyidAl-Shuhada Abu Alaa Al-Walaei.

The source pointed out that “a proposal will be presented at April 25 meeting to move forward with Basim Al-Badri as prime minister, in exchange for granting the Reconstruction and Development Coalition (Al-Ima'ar wal-Tanmiya), led by caretaker PM Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, five ministerial portfolios, including a deputy PM post and a sovereign ministry.” Preliminary understandings, he added, include avoiding the reopening of files related to previous governments and improving Iraq’s relations with regional countries, “as part of efforts to ease internal and external tensions as the new government takes shape.”

The source noted that participants did not support the newly proposed candidates raised during Friday’s meeting.

These developments follow a Coordination Framework meeting on Friday that ended without agreement on a prime ministerial candidate.