Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework (CF) agreed to withdraw Nouri al-Maliki’s nomination for prime minister, according to a senior source familiar with Tuesday’s meeting, marking a decisive shift in a stalled government formation process.

The source told Shafaq News that coalition leaders reached a consensus to pull al-Maliki’s candidacy, with an official statement expected within hours. Intensive talks are set to begin over the next two days to agree on a new nominee capable of securing backing from the Framework as well as Sunni and Kurdish blocs.

Read more: Nouri Al-Maliki’s new doctrine for power: Pragmatism over defiance?

Al-Maliki, along with senior figures Hammam Hamoudi and Abu Alaa al-Walaei, was absent from the meeting, the source said.

The decision follows weeks of internal divisions within the Framework over al-Maliki’s return to the premiership, amid US warnings about the political and security implications of his selection.

Read more: Iraq’s next Prime Minister held hostage by US-Iran standoff