Shafaq News – Baghdad (Updated at 13:05)

Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and former PM Nouri al-Maliki are among five candidates who submitted their resumes to the Coordination Framework’s (CF) committee responsible for interviewing nominees for Iraq’s next prime minister.

A source told Shafaq News on Saturday that the list also includes Intelligence Service chief Hamid al-Shatri, former Youth and Sports Minister Abdul-Hussein Abtan, and Basim al-Badri, who heads the Accountability and Justice Parliamentary Commission. The source said all CF components were invited to present nominees, indicating the list may expand, though the contest remains centered on al-Sudani, al-Maliki, and al-Shatri.

Leaders within the Framework confirmed that the committee has already begun its work and agreed on candidate criteria in coordination with other factions. A senior figure from the Wisdom (Al-Hikma) Movement, Hassan Faddam, said most circulating names are accurate but noted that some individuals have not formally submitted their candidacies. He added that the complete list will be made public in the coming days.

State of Law Coalition spokesman Aqeel al-Fatlawi told Shafaq News that the Framework is currently focused solely on selecting its nominee for prime minister. Ministerial portfolios, he said, will be discussed only after the largest bloc’s candidate is formally designated.

According to an insider familiar with the process, the committee intends to present a primary nominee along with an alternate, anticipating possible parliamentary objections or unexpected political shifts. The Framework, the insider said, seeks a candidate who would observe its internal rules and offer assurances against future fragmentation or the formation of an independent political bloc.

The selection process follows Iraq’s sixth parliamentary election since 2003, held last week with turnout exceeding 56% nationwide. Official figures from the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) show al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition (Al-Ima’ar wal Tanmiya) emerging as the largest bloc with 46 seats, followed by al-Maliki’s State of Law with 29, Sadiqoon led by Qais al-Khazali with 27, and the Taqaddum (Progress) Party led by Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, also with 27.

Under constitutional procedure, IHEC will forward the certified results to the Federal Supreme Court. Once approved, parliament will elect a president, who will then appoint a prime minister-designate to begin forming the next government.

Iraq’s political system operates on a power-sharing formula in which the prime minister is traditionally selected from the Shia community, the parliament speaker from the Sunni community, and the president from the Kurdish community. With Shia parties now holding 140 of the 329 seats—the largest bloc in the new parliament—they are expected to shape the negotiations not only over the premiership but also over the presidency and speakership.

Read more: Unsettled victory: Al-Sudani between a second term and Shiite power balances