Iraqi forces revive vice-presidential posts for al-Maliki and al-Halbousi amid government talks
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraqi political sources revealed Monday a governmental and political push to revive the posts of vice president, with a proposal to assign the two positions to Nouri al-Maliki and Mohammed al-Halbousi as part of broader settlement efforts aimed at achieving political balance.
The pairing reflects Iraq's informal power-sharing system known as muhasasa, under which key state posts are distributed along sectarian and ethnic lines —al-Maliki is a Shiite, and al-Halbousi is a Sunni.
The vice-presidential posts were abolished by the government of Haider al-Abadi in 2016 as part of a reform package, before the Federal Supreme Court later ruled the abolition unconstitutional, affirming that the position is a constitutional obligation.
One source told Shafaq News that political forces within the State Administration Coalition, which includes the main Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish parties, are studying a mechanism to reactivate the two posts, with both figures potentially open to the proposal.
Parliament Speaker Hibat al-Halbousi called on President Nizar Amiedi, following his swearing-in on Saturday, April 11, to consult with political blocs on nominating vice presidents in accordance with Article 75 of the Iraqi constitution.
Firas al-Maslamawi, spokesman for the Reconstruction and Development Coalition bloc, led by caretaker PM Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, said that while reactivating the posts is under discussion within political understandings, al-Maliki had previously rejected the position and is unlikely to accept it even if reactivated, with no decision expected soon.
On the prime ministerial question, al-Maslamawi said al-Sudani remains the frontrunner for a second term, backed by the majority of Framework factions, with the Reconstruction and Development Coalition holding 51 parliamentary seats. However, another political source told Shafaq News that al-Sudani has received cautionary messages from Shiite leaders warning him not to rely on the presidential election results, as the numbers are not fixed and the previous scenario may not repeat.
Al-Maliki, leader of the State of Law Coalition, separately told Framework leaders Monday he is willing to withdraw his own prime ministerial candidacy on the condition that al-Sudani is not nominated for a second term. He also stipulated that no figure who previously served as prime minister be considered, a condition understood to target former premier Haider al-Abadi.
