His coalition: Al-Abadi refuses to assume the premiership, and the upcoming framework meeting will be decisive.
His coalition: Al-Abadi refuses to assume the premiership, and the upcoming framework meeting will be decisive.
2025-12-03 08:03
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The Victory Coalition, led by former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, revealed on Wednesday that its leader had refused to run for the premiership and that his name had been put forward by the Coordination Framework, while indicating that the next meeting of the Framework might be decisive in determining the identity of the new Prime Minister.
Salam al-Zubaidi, spokesman for the Victory Coalition, told Shafaq News Agency that “the forces of the Coordination Framework included the name of former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in the list of candidates for the new government, despite his rejection.”
He added that “there are national and external obligations, including internal and external files and challenges, therefore the candidate’s ability to deal with them is one of the most important criteria and determinants that must be available in the personality of the next prime minister.”
He explains that “Al-Abadi does not accept working according to an equation that shackles or restricts him, and therefore the issue of choosing the candidate for the next government needs more understandings, and the meeting of the coordination framework scheduled to be held next Monday may witness the crystallization of the identity of the new prime minister.”
He stressed that “the chances of all candidates for the premiership are equal so far, there is no preference for one person over another, except according to the criteria specified by the framework,” noting that “whoever meets the criteria for managing the next stage, and who accepts regional and international challenges and achieves internal and external satisfaction, will be the prime minister, and determining the identity of the presidents of the republic and parliament will certainly have an impact on choosing the most suitable prime minister.”
For his part, a source within the coordination framework told Shafaq News Agency that “the number of candidates most likely to win the premiership has been greatly reduced to a few names, led by caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, in addition to al-Abadi and al-Maliki, with candidates such as Asaad al-Eidani and others entering the shortlist.”
He explained that “this list is in place, unless a new change occurs in the local or regional political landscape.”
The name of former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was included in the list of candidates for the position, which also includes caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki, Accountability and Justice Commission Chairman Basim al-Badri, in addition to Basra Governor Asaad al-Eidani, who recently entered the competition, with a strong likelihood that Intelligence Service Chief Hamid al-Shatri will be excluded .
The committee evaluating candidates for the position of Prime Minister, which is part of the Coordination Framework, found earlier this week that the nominated names come from different parliamentary blocs, others from multiple parties, as well as some independent candidates, but most of these do not meet the criteria for competing for the position of Prime Minister, according to the committee .
The coordinating framework had previously specified the conditions and criteria that must be met by candidates for the position of head of the new government, most notably that he must not be the leader of a political bloc .
Then he returned and eased it, which opened the door for most of the framework’s forces to put forward their candidates for the position, according to what a political source told Shafaq News Agency at the time .
The source explained that “the previous conditions included (that the candidate should not have previously been nominated for the position or held it previously, and should not have a party or a separate bloc), but the forces of the Coordination Framework agreed that the next Prime Minister should not have any files, lawsuits or suspicions of corruption, and if there are files on him, he will be rejected and prevented from running for the position .”
It is worth noting that the Independent High Electoral Commission in Iraq announced on November 17, 2025, the final results of the parliamentary elections, revealing that the Development and Reconstruction Coalition, led by outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, won 46 seats.
shafaq.com
