ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi President Nizar Amedi on Wednesday urged the country’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework to expedite naming its nominee for prime minister, cautioning against slipping into a constitutional gray zone by missing the deadline. The remarks come as the alliance postponed a scheduled Wednesday meeting on the issue to Friday, leaving just four days before the 15-day constitutional window expires.
Amedi’s office said in a statement that he received senior Coordination Framework figure and former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki (2006 - 2014) and his accompanying delegation at the Iraqi president’s Baghdad headquarters.
The president stressed “the importance of upholding constitutional obligations within the set timelines,” urging the Coordination Framework to name a prime ministerial candidate before the constitutional deadline and to “work on forming a government capable of meeting the aspirations of the Iraqi people and advancing the country’s development,” the statement said.
The attendees also discussed “the general situation in the country and the region, emphasizing the importance of maintaining and strengthening security and stability, as well as making serious efforts to improve citizens’ living and service conditions,” the president’s office added.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Coordination Framework’s general secretariat said the alliance of Shiite parties had postponed a meeting scheduled for that day to Friday “to allow more space for dialogue and to reach an [tangible] outcome within the constitutional timeframe.”
Iraq held legislative elections in early November, and in late December, parliament elected its speaker and two deputies.
On April 11, parliament elected the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) nominee, Amedi, as president. Under the constitution, once sworn in, the president has up to 15 days to task the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc - the Coordination Framework - with forming a government.
However, the process has so far been marked by internal divisions among the alliance’s 12 constituent parties, which have yet to agree on a single candidate for prime minister, as the constitutional deadline is set to expire on Monday.
Meanwhile, three officials from within the alliance told Rudaw on Tuesday that the Coordination Framework is facing unprecedented divisions, with its members split into two camps backing rival nominees - one aligned with incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and another linked to former premier Maliki.
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