Uncertainty grows over Iraq’s next PM before polls
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Political consultations over Iraq’s next PM have yet to produce a consensus candidate, despite reports suggesting that Cabinet Secretary-General Hamid al-Ghazi, a figure close to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, was being considered for the premiership, sources told Shafaq News on Thursday.
The reports emerged following statements by lawmakers and leaders within the Coordination Framework (CF) suggesting that most Shia parties do not intend to grant al-Sudani a second term. According to MPs and officials, the reluctance to renew al-Sudani’s mandate stems from deep divisions between him and key factions within the CF.
Two senior figures from the Coordination Framework (CF), the largest parliamentary alliance, and a third from the Patriotic Shiite Movement (formerly Sadrist) told Shafaq News that discussions among political forces are still ongoing and that decisive talks “will only take place after the parliamentary election results are announced.”
“The Sadrist Movement remains disengaged from all political communication and has reached no agreement or coordination regarding the choice of the next prime minister,” the sources confirmed.
Under Iraq’s political system, the prime minister is nominated by the largest parliamentary bloc following elections and formally appointed by the president. The nominee must then secure parliament’s confidence to form a government, a process that often involves lengthy negotiations among Shia, Sunni, and Kurdish parties over cabinet positions and power-sharing arrangements.
Iraq is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on 11 November 2025 under the supervision of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). The vote will determine the 329 members of the Council of Representatives, who in turn nominate the next prime minister from the largest parliamentary bloc.
Read more:Iraq’s 2025 Parliamentary Elections — What You Need to Know
