The ruling Shiite coalition in Iraq, known as the “Coordination Framework,” has entered a critical phase following the election of a new president of the republic. Constitutional deadlines that it must adhere to are approaching their end, leaving it with only a few days to present a candidate for the next Iraqi prime minister—one who will “strengthen relations with Washington,” according to several sources within the Framework who spoke to Alhurra.
In numerical terms, the Coordination Framework, which holds around 187 seats out of 329 in parliament, has until April 25 to submit its nominee to the newly elected president, Nizar Amidi.
The first paragraph of Article 76 of Iraq’s 2005 constitution obliges the president to assign the candidate of the largest parliamentary bloc within 15 days of his election.
The Coordination Framework has failed to hold any meeting since parliament elected Amidi on April 11. A “decisive” meeting had been scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed to Saturday.
A well-informed source within the Coordination Framework, involved in coordinating meetings, told Alhurra that an “important” meeting will precede the general meeting scheduled for Saturday. According to the source, “since Friday evening, Baghdad time, bilateral and trilateral meetings among Framework leaders have begun, aiming to reach a preliminary agreement before heading to the general meeting.”
The Coordination Framework consists of 12 members representing leaders of Shiite coalitions and parliamentary blocs, whose sizes range between 45 and 5 seats. However, voting within the Framework does not depend on the number of MPs; the vote of a bloc leader with 45 seats carries the same weight as that of a bloc with 4 seats.
According to a second source within the Framework, an agreement has been reached that the candidate who secures two-thirds of the votes within the Coordination Framework (8 out of 12) will be the official nominee for prime minister.
Currently, the source says that the incumbent prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, is the frontrunner with 6 votes, while his rival, Bassem al-Badri, holds 4 votes. “There are two remaining parties—one is reserving its position on both candidates, and the other is waiting for either candidate to reach 7 votes before adding its support,” the source added.
Al-Badri is the head of the Accountability and Justice Commission and a member of the Islamic Dawa Party, led by former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Previously, the Coordination Framework had announced Maliki as its nominee for prime minister, but this nomination was met with explicit American rejection expressed by President Donald Trump, as well as reservations from within the Shiite alliance itself and from Sunni political forces.
Although Maliki has effectively exited the race due to the American veto and internal objections, his withdrawal has not been formally announced. However, the second source confirmed that Maliki himself insisted on nominating al-Badri as his alternative.
Other figures still retain some chances, albeit weaker ones, including the head of the National Intelligence Service, Hamid al-Shatri; National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji; former Minister of Construction and Housing Mohammed Sahib al-Darraji; and former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
The Coordination Framework now stands at a decisive moment and faces a difficult dilemma: choosing a prime minister who does not provoke Washington.
The Framework fears risking a nominee who might face the same fate as Maliki did in January, when Trump stated that “bringing Maliki back to power would have negative effects on relations between Baghdad and Washington.”
A senior source within the Shiite Coordination Framework told Alhurra: “What we are looking for now is a prime minister who develops relations with Washington, not harms them.” He also said that “political forces are in a state of shock due to the unprecedented level of American firmness.”
He added that “the U.S. chargé d’affaires, Joshua Harris, conveyed a message stressing the need not to form a government that fails to protect diplomatic missions and U.S. government interests.”
Earlier, an agreement had taken shape within the Coordination Framework that resulted in formally removing Maliki from the nomination race in order to avoid direct confrontation with President Donald Trump, who had hinted at rejecting his return for a third term.
A source close to Maliki told Alhurra: “The situation is somewhat complicated. Maliki has not formally withdrawn, and he will support whoever has the majority within the Framework.”
Rahman al-Jubouri, a former senior researcher at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Washington, said: “The division within the Coordination Framework is not only about the prime minister; regional changes have also created divisions within the Framework.”
He added to Alhurra: “If the situation continues under these conditions, the Framework will collapse. Regional circumstances have generated new principles and foundations, and I do not think some actors will be able to deal with them.”
Iraqi political analyst Ali al-Baydar believes that “the Framework forces do not have many options regarding the identity of the prime minister, who must meet specific criteria and high standards, and they may be forced to select al-Sudani again.”
He added in remarks to Alhurra that “many internal and external parties are imposing vetoes on proposed candidates, and Shiite leaders may try to impose conditions on al-Sudani or obtain concessions in exchange for passing him 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.
Mustafa Saadoon
Mustafa Saadoon is an Iraqi journalist who has worked for several international and Arab media organizations. He covers politics and human rights.
