Post-election talks: CF to narrow 15-name list for premiership
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Leaders of the Coordination Framework (CF) will review 15 candidates this week for Iraq’s next prime minister, including incumbent Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Intelligence Service chief Hamid al-Shatri, a source from the CF told Shafaq News on Sunday.
The source stated that the meeting will convene after the electoral commission announces the final results and al-Sudani returns from his visit to the Kurdistan Region. It will address the mechanism for forming the government, the shortlist of nominees for the premiership, and early understandings on political and party alliances.
The prime minister’s post is traditionally reserved for the Shia component, making the Framework — an alliance of ruling Shia political forces — the main arena for selecting the next candidate.
“Current indicators strongly favor al-Sudani for a second term due to the backing he enjoys locally, regionally, and internationally, though his candidacy remains tied to staying within the Framework,” the source said.
He also noted that the alliance has prepared several scenarios in case al-Sudani chooses to form a separate parliamentary bloc, adding that names circulating outside the official shortlist are meant to confuse the political landscape and undermine the CF.
A separate political source told Shafaq News that senior Shia leaders have agreed that none of the top-winning figures may break away from the alliance, and that the next prime minister will be chosen from within the CF.
Read more: Indecisive victory: PM Al-Sudani's second term faces Shiite balancing act
On November 13, a day after the electoral commission announced preliminary results, Iraqi election-monitoring organizations published a table showing the initial seat distribution for the 2025 parliamentary elections. According to the document, Shia lists secured about 187 of 329 general seats, including several won on Sunni lists.
Within the CF, al-Sudani’s al-Ima'ar wal-Tanmiya (Reconstruction and Development) won 45 seats, followed by Nouri al-Maliki’s E’tilaf Dawlat al-Qanoun (State of Law Coalition) with 30 seats. The Sadiqoon bloc, led by Qais al-Khazali, took 26, Badr, headed by Hadi al-Ameri, won 19, and the Quwa al-Dawla al-Wataniyah (National State Forces) of Ammar al-Hakim secured 18.
