An informed source within the Shiite Coordination Framework—the ruling Shiite coalition in Iraq—revealed that the general direction within the alliance favors nominating current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani for a second term, with other options to be discussed in a decisive meeting on Wednesday.
On Saturday, the Iraqi parliament elected Nizar Amidi as President of the Republic, bringing an end to the political deadlock over forming a new government stemming from the general elections held last November—a deadlock the country has suffered from for more than three months.
According to the Iraqi constitution, the new president must request that the largest parliamentary bloc (the Shiite Coordination Framework) nominate a candidate for prime minister within a period not exceeding 15 days from the date of the president’s election.
Salam al-Zubaidi, spokesperson for the Annasir Coalition—one of the forces within the Coordination Framework—said that “the Framework had been expected to hold a meeting on Monday, but it was postponed to Wednesday at the request of current candidate Nouri al-Maliki in order to conduct further dialogue and reach a consensus agreement on nominating an alternative candidate.”
Al-Zubaidi stressed to Alhurra that “there is near agreement among the Coordination Framework forces to resolve the matter in Wednesday’s meeting, with the final name to be announced before the constitutional deadline expires next week.”
The crisis surrounding Maliki’s nomination caused delays in holding the parliamentary session scheduled to elect a new president of the republic, which had been set for late January, given that it has become customary in Iraq to carry out the election of the president and the nomination of the largest bloc’s candidate for prime minister as part of a single deal.
Efforts to nominate Maliki for a third term became more complicated after U.S. President Donald Trump warned last February that Washington would not provide any assistance to Iraq if Maliki returned to power. Washington also sent several messages to Iraqi officials and political leaders threatening sanctions on Baghdad if it moved forward with Maliki’s nomination.
A senior figure within the Coordination Framework confirmed to Alhurra that Sudani currently has the strongest chances of securing a second term, as some leaders within the Framework believe he holds the largest number of seats in parliament, giving him an advantage over other candidates.
He is followed by former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who has lower chances than Sudani but remains a contender, according to the same source.
There are also other options, though they are weak, according to the Framework official. These include returning to the nine candidates previously selected by the Coordination Framework to compete for the position, excluding Sudani and Abadi due to Maliki’s rejection of their nominations.
Another option would be to nominate a consensus figure from outside the nine candidates, though this option is currently the weakest, the source explained.
The official, who requested anonymity, noted that Maliki has not yet formally withdrawn his candidacy, but has become clearly convinced that securing parliamentary approval is difficult, if not impossible, following U.S. opposition as well as reservations from within the Coordination Framework and from some Sunni and Kurdish forces.
The Coordination Framework had nominated Maliki in January after Sudani—whose coalition won 51 seats in the 2025 legislative elections—faced rejection from several parties within the Shiite alliance. As a result of this rejection, the Framework at the time authorized Maliki and Sudani to agree on nominating one of them. Maliki had been at odds with Sudani since the latter formed his government in October 2022.
At the time, Sudani surprised everyone by withdrawing his candidacy in favor of Maliki, plunging the Coordination Framework into political deadlock and prompting President Trump to express his position regarding the nomination of the State of Law coalition leader.
On January 27, Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social: “I hear that the great State of Iraq may make a very bad choice by reinstating Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister. The last time Maliki was in power, the country slipped into poverty and total chaos. That should not be allowed to happen again.”
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
Ghassan Taqi
A journalist specializing in Iraqi affairs, he has worked with the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) since 2015. He previously spent several years with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, as well as various Iraqi and Arab media outlets.
