Framework returns Sudani and Maliki to jointly pick PM candidate, says MP

BAGHDAD — The Coordination Framework has handed Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki joint authority to select a prime minister candidate after repeated rounds of talks failed to produce agreement, lawmaker Alia Nassif said Saturday.

“In the latest framework meeting, matters returned to square one, with the theory of authorizing Maliki and Sudani to make the choice being reintroduced,” Nassif, a member of Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition, told Al-Rasheed TV.

She said a proposal to adopt a voting mechanism requiring approval from eight framework leaders holding more than 110 parliamentary seats had stalled the process. “In my view, whoever proposed this idea intends to hinder the selection,” she said.

The development comes as Iraq enters what legal interpretations describe as a second constitutional breach, after the framework missed the 15-day deadline tied to Amedi’s April 12 inauguration. Some leaders within the bloc have downplayed the violation, arguing it carries no legal consequence for the validity of appointing a prime minister afterward.

Excerpts of Nassif’s interview on Al-Rasheed TV:

The Coordination Framework has returned to square one in the process of selecting a prime minister after failing multiple times to agree on a candidate for the position. The framework has once again authorized current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki to choose the name of the prime ministerial candidate.

The proposal to adopt a voting mechanism among eight framework leaders, who collectively hold more than 110 parliamentary seats, has obstructed the selection of the head of government. In my view, whoever proposed this idea intends to hinder the selection. Therefore, in the latest framework meeting, matters returned to square one, with the theory of authorizing Maliki and Sudani to make the choice being reintroduced.

The conditions for a compromise candidate within the framework are that they must sign a commitment not to have a political party and not to participate in elections, because they do not want to repeat the experiences of Sudani and Abadi.

Sudani’s allies within the framework include Hakim, Khazali and Amiri. Together with Sudani, they represent approximately 116 lawmakers. This means they have the parliamentary weight, in alliance with other political forces from different components, to pass the prime minister. However, both sides within the framework — Maliki’s camp and the camp supporting Sudani — are keen to preserve what they call the sanctity of the framework’s unity. They do not realize that by continuing without a decisive resolution, they risk completely undermining the framework.

In the last meeting with Sudani, he was presented with the option of gathering parliamentary signatures from blocs supporting him within the framework, amounting to more than 116 lawmakers, but he refused and said he wants to preserve the unity of the framework.