Shafaq News- Al-Sulaymaniyah

Kurdish opposition leader Shaswar Abdulwahid, head of the New Generation Movement (Al-Jeel Al-Jadeed-NGM), said on Saturday that Iraq’s Shiite political forces could form the next government, including selecting a prime minister, without Kurdish support.

Speaking to reporters, Abdulwahid observed that Shiite factions hold decisive influence over government formation, attributing the delay in electing Iraq’s next premier to unresolved internal divisions among Shiite blocs. These factions have not urged Kurdish parties to elect a president, he added, noting that any Kurdish move toward the presidential vote will likely hinge on how those disputes evolve.

The Shiite Coordination Framework (CF), the largest parliamentary bloc with more than 185 seats in Iraq’s 329-member parliament, put forward Nouri al-Maliki as its candidate for prime minister. His nomination has backing from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), and segments of the Sunni National Political Council. Al-Maliki previously led two governments between 2006 and 2014.

US President Donald Trump has publicly dismissed Al-Maliki’s potential return, arguing that Iraq “descended into poverty and total chaos” during his tenure and warning that Washington “will no longer help Iraq” if he is selected.

Read more: Nouri Al-Maliki’s return rekindles Iraq’s divisions as Iran and the US pull apart