Three framework leaders did not sign al-Zaidi nomination paper, lawmaker reveals

BAGHDAD — The Coordination Framework’s nomination document for Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi carried only nine of 12 leaders’ signatures, with Islamic Supreme Council head Humam Hamoudi, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada secretary-general Abu Alaa al-Walaei and Al-Nasr Alliance leader Haider al-Abadi not signing, a lawmaker from the Hikma Movement said Wednesday.

Ahmad al-Saadi said Hamoudi was ill on the night of the selection, while al-Walaei did not attend due to security concerns following the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice program announcing a reward of up to $10 million for information on him. Al-Abadi attended the meeting but requested a delay until the following morning for further discussion — a proposal that “there was no response from the framework leaders to” — before leaving “in good faith” so as not to appear obstructive.

Al-Saadi said four names were proposed on the night of the selection: al-Zaidi, Asaad al-Eidani, Ali al-Allaq and Saleh al-Hasnawi. Consensus settled on al-Zaidi because he “has strong relations with Sunni and Kurdish forces and is not a media figure but a behind-the-scenes man.” Al-Saadi added that “everything was ready that night, and the presidential decree was printed.”

The Coordination Framework announced al-Zaidi’s nomination Monday, following the withdrawal of both Nouri al-Maliki and Mohammed Shia al-Sudani from the race. Al-Zaidi has 30 days to form a cabinet, draft a government program and secure approval from an absolute majority of parliament’s 329 members.