Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
Dawa Party denies Maliki withdrawal from premiership race
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Dawa Party on Sunday denied that its leader, Nouri al-Maliki, has withdrawn his candidacy for prime minister, stating that the decision lies with the Coordination Framework, which originally nominated him.
In a statement, the party said, “the Coordination Framework’s candidate for prime minister is Mr. Nouri al-Maliki, and this nomination is still in place, as officially announced on Jan. 24, and has not been withdrawn so far.”
The statement added, “Mr. Nouri al-Maliki has not withdrawn his candidacy up to this moment.” It said that any decision to withdraw the nomination “belongs exclusively to the Coordination Framework, as the entity that nominated Mr. al-Maliki by majority,” adding that any withdrawal must follow “the same mechanism by which he was nominated.”
The party also denied reports that al-Maliki has proposed an alternative candidate, stating, “there is no truth to what is being circulated about Mr. Nouri al-Maliki nominating any replacement.”
The Coordination Framework’s nomination of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in January drew direct U.S. opposition, with President Trump warning Washington could halt support for Iraq if al-Maliki returned to power.
A State of Law Coalition official claimed earlier that the U.S. chargé d’affaires has since also conveyed opposition to renewing Sudani’s term, effectively leaving the dominant Shiite alliance without an American-approved candidate.
However, a leader within the Coordination Framework said Sunday that eight of its blocs support Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani for a second term, while claiming a U.S. veto has effectively ended the candidacy of rival Bassem al-Badri.