ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework is weighing incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and former premier Nouri al-Maliki as its leading candidates for the premiership, but rival factions say neither is willing to compromise, stalling talks as parliament advances the process to elect a president.
Baha al-Araji, a lawmaker from Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition (RDC), told Rudaw that Sudani and Maliki are the two main candidates for the position.
The Sudani-led RDC emerged as the largest bloc in the 329-member parliament with 46 seats, while Maliki’s State of Law Coalition secured 29 seats.
Salam al-Zubaidi, spokesperson for the Nasr Coalition led by former prime minister Haider al-Abadi, said neither candidate is prepared to withdraw..
“Neither is Maliki ready to compromise and accept that al-Sudani become Prime Minister, nor is al-Sudani satisfied with that middle solution proposed by the Coordination Framework,” al-Zubaidi said.
He noted that the Coordination Framework has proposed Abadi as a “middle solution,” adding that “if the balance continues in this way, someone else other than them may be chosen, the strongest of whom is Hamid al-Shatri.” Shatri currently heads the Iraqi National Intelligence Service.
Araji disputed the likelihood of a third candidate.
“Al-Sudani and al-Maliki have the largest forces within the Coordination Framework, so it is not suitable for neither of them to be a candidate and for someone else to be appointed,” he said.
He added that the selection of the candidate will be made by the Framework, “whether by consensus and agreement or by voting.”
According to Araji, the final decision depends partly on Kurdish parties reaching an agreement on the presidency.
“We are now waiting for our Kurdish brothers to decide on the issue of the President of the Republic, so that we can then make the final decision on the Prime Minister,” he said.
Parliament on Monday and Tuesday elected its speaker and deputy speakers, opening a three-day window for political parties to submit candidates for the mostly ceremonial post of president. The presidency has traditionally been held by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) since the 2003 US-led invasion, though the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is also seeking the post.
“The selection of the Prime Minister within the Coordination Framework will be by agreement and consensus, not by voting,” al-Fatlawi said.
He confirmed that Maliki and Sudani are “the most prominent” candidates and “have the best chance of becoming Prime Minister.”