Maliki-Sudani meeting was ‘session of reproach,’ State of Law figure says

BAGHDAD — A senior State of Law Coalition figure described a recent meeting between Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki as a “session of reproach,” saying Sudani had reversed an earlier commitment to back Maliki’s nomination for prime minister.

“You came yourself and said to Maliki: you are my brother, go ahead and run, and I am with you. Why did you change your mind?” Abbas al-Bayati said in a televised interview, addressing Sudani directly. He described the encounter as including “reproach, greetings, coffee and tea.”

Bayati said Maliki hosted several Coordination Framework leaders at his residence Wednesday afternoon to discuss resolving the political impasse, and that “Trump’s veto was decisive” in shaping dynamics within the bloc. A social media post by U.S. President Donald Trump rejecting Maliki’s nomination has continued to influence positions among framework members, he said, alongside what he described as personal and partisan opposition.

He said the framework postponed its Wednesday meeting to Friday for two reasons: to allow more time for dialogue and because of differences among its members. He dismissed concern about the timeline, saying that if Saturday arrives without agreement, “there is a person who has 10 votes within the framework.”

Bayati also pushed back against proposals to base candidate selection on parliamentary seat counts, noting that Sudani, Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Adel Abdul Mahdi all came to office without large blocs. “Some of them had only one MP,” he said.

The Dawa Party has maintained Maliki remains its official nominee and that his candidacy “has not been withdrawn,” while rival factions say eight blocs back Sudani against four for Maliki. Two other names remain under consideration: Basim al-Badri, head of the Accountability and Justice Commission, and Ihsan al-Awadi, director of Sudani’s office, whose candidacy was proposed by the Reconstruction and Development bloc.

President Nizar Amedi has 15 days from his April 12 inauguration under Article 76 to task the largest bloc’s nominee with forming a government.