Shafaq News- Baghdad
Efforts to persuade State of Law Coalition leader NouriAl-Maliki and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani to withdraw fromthe race for prime minister have failed, with both leaders insisting on theircandidacy, a political source told Shafaq News on Sunday.
Meetings on April 25 among leaders of the ShiiteCoordination Framework (CF), which holds around 162 of parliament’s 329 seats,focused on potential compromise options, including Haider Al-Abadi and IhsanAl-Awadi, the source said, adding that the bloc plans to reconvene in theevening to choose a figure by majority vote, a move that could break theconsensus approach and trigger internal opposition.
According to the CF member Abu Mithaq Al-Misari, the issueof naming the next prime minister remains complex, and “today’s meeting isunlikely to produce a breakthrough unless one of the two main contenders,Al-Sudani or Al-Maliki, steps aside.”
The alliance has repeatedly failed to unify behind a singlenominee. Under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing arrangement, the presidency goesto a Kurd, the premiership to a Shiite, and the speakership to a Sunni Arab. Parliament elected Nizar Amedi as president on April 11, triggering the processto choose a prime minister. The Framework faces its constitutional deadlinetoday to present a candidate, after which the nominee has 30 days to form agovernment and secure parliamentary confidence under Article 76 of theconstitution.
: Coordination Framework: Can govern Iraq, but cannot agree on a PM
