Iraq to choose prime minister nominee ahead of deadline

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s Coordination Framework (CF) –the largest bloc in the country's 329-seat parliament– is expected to decide its final nominee for prime minister on Saturday, ahead of the April 26 deadline, sources told Shafaq News.

A meeting scheduled for later today will determine the selection process, with the nominee required to secure two-thirds of leaders’ votes through multiple rounds of individual balloting. The candidates include former Prime Ministers Haider Al-Abadi and Nouri Al-Maliki, caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, Accountability and Justice Commission head Bassem Al-Badri, and former prime minister-designate Adnan Al-Zurfi.

Divisions continue to delay consensus, with a meeting between Al-Sudani and Al-Maliki also expected later today as part of efforts to break the impasse.

The push follows a meeting on April 24 that ended without agreement, prompting further consultations, including a second gathering at Al-Maliki’s residence.

Under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing system, the presidency is held by a Kurd, the premiership by a Shiite, and the speakership by a Sunni Arab. Parliament elected Nizar Amedi as president on April 11, triggering the constitutional process to nominate a prime minister. The CF has 15 days to present its candidate, after which the nominee has 30 days to form a government and secure parliamentary confidence under Article 76 of the constitution.

Read more: Coordination Framework: Can govern Iraq, but cannot agree on a PM