PM Sudani’s parliamentary bloc backs Maliki ‘to the end’, says leader

BAGHDAD — A political bloc allied with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said Nouri al-Maliki remains its candidate for prime minister and that recent Coordination Framework meetings did not include any discussion of extending the government’s powers as a caretaker administration.

Baha al-Araji, head of the Reconstruction and Development bloc, told UTV that al-Sudani briefs lawmakers after every framework meeting. “The latest report did not include a discussion of extending the government’s powers,” he said, adding: “We, as the Reconstruction and Development bloc, our candidate now is Mr. al-Maliki and we will go with him to the end.”

Al-Araji said al-Sudani stepped aside for al-Maliki “to prevent political deadlock” and out of “respect for the constitutional ceilings in forming the presidencies.”

He said some in the Dawa Party initially called the move “a plot,” but “we proved to them with evidence that it was not.”

If al-Maliki fails to win parliamentary approval, al-Araji said, he should sit with al-Sudani — who ‘stepped aside’ for him — and together they should decide on the next candidate. “This is my personal opinion,” he said.

“I am sure that when we reach a blocked stage, al-Maliki will put the national interest above everything,” he said. “We will not accept that Mr. al-Maliki goes to parliament and is broken.”

The Coordination Framework nominated al-Maliki “by majority vote” on Jan. 25. Iraq’s Dawa Party has denied reports of his withdrawal, saying he “remains committed to running for the post of prime minister” and calling withdrawal reports “baseless.”

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the United States would “no longer help” Iraq if al-Maliki returned to office. Al-Maliki responded in a televised interview: “Does Trump know me to tweet about me?” — rejecting what he described as outside interference.