KDP leader Masoud Barzani, right, meets with State of Law Coalition head Nouri Al-Maliki, left, during talks in Erbil on Nov. 22, 2025.
Post-elections developments
Maliki, Barzani meet in Erbil to discuss criteria for top government posts
ERBIL — Yasser Sakheel Al-Maliki, member of the State of Law Coalition, said that Nouri Al-Maliki’s Saturday visit to Erbil was made in response to a previously postponed invitation from Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani.
According to Sakheel, the meeting between Maliki and Barzani focused on the criteria and mechanisms for selecting candidates for Iraq’s three highest political offices. He said the talks did not include specific names.
The IHEC released the final election results on Monday, confirming turnout above 56 percent and publishing the distribution of all 329 parliamentary seats across the country’s 18 governorates. Al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition ranked second with 29 seats. The Kurdistan Democratic Party followed with 26 seats.
Sakheel said both sides agreed on the importance of “protecting and strengthening the political process” and reviewing relevant laws.
In a statement Maliki said, “The visit was an important opportunity to affirm and solidify our partnership, which has its roots in the opposition era to the former dictatorial regime and will continue.”
He added: “Our discussions focused on completing the constitutional entitlements following the elections. We exchanged ideas regarding the qualities of the candidates for the three presidencies and the mechanisms for selecting them, without delving into specific names.”
He concluded that the talks were based on the “national duty to move forward in realizing the will of our people to form a government that meets their legitimate aspirations.”
Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court ruled Monday that the current parliament’s term has ended and that the cabinet formed under it is now restricted to caretaker functions only, responding to a request from President Abdul Latif Rashid.
The Islamic Dawa Party on Saturday named its secretary-general, Nouri Al-Maliki, as its candidate for Iraq’s next prime minister, moving formally into the post-election contest for the premiership.