Exclusive: Behind the scenes of al-Sudani’s concession to al-Maliki and al-Hakim’s threat to use the Marja’iyya card
Exclusive: Behind the scenes of al-Sudani’s concession to al-Maliki and al-Hakim’s threat to use the Marja’iyya card
2026-01-11 03:52
Shafaq News – Baghdad
On Sunday, a source within the Shiite coordination framework revealed details of the meeting held yesterday by the framework’s forces to discuss the repercussions of the withdrawal of outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani from the race for the premiership for a second time, and to agree on a candidate for the position who enjoys the support of all Shiite forces.
The source told Shafaq News Agency that “the forces of the framework gathered at the home of the leader of the Iraqi Foundation Coalition, Mohsen al-Mandalawi, clarified the reasons that prompted (al-Sudani) to withdraw from the nomination, and the latter summarized the reasons by saying that the interest of Iraq transcends partisan and personal interests, and then the Dawa Party suggested presenting the head of the State of Law Coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, as a candidate for the framework.”
According to the source, Maliki’s nomination was supported by most of the Coordination Committee leaders, with the exception of the leader of the Wisdom Movement, Ammar al-Hakim, who sought the opinion of the religious authority and sent a message to the religious authority in Najaf. However, the latter renewed its refusal to interfere in the nomination of the prime minister, and thus the competition became limited to Maliki only.
The source indicated that “the framework forces will hold a meeting tomorrow evening, Monday, on the same matter to decide the position regarding the framework’s candidate for the premiership. If no bloc registers or submits an objection to al-Maliki’s nomination, then it is certain that it will proceed, unless the matter is impossible, then realistic solutions proposals will be discussed to end the controversy surrounding the framework’s candidate for the premiership.”
The Coordination Framework announced on Saturday evening that it would continue to discuss the formation of the next government and decide on the appointment of the Prime Minister, following controversy over the nomination of Nouri al-Maliki, head of the State of Law Coalition, for a third term.
Media outlets and social media widely circulated news that the Coordination Framework forces reached an agreement in today’s meeting to nominate former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to head the next government, something which was not officially mentioned in the Framework’s statement.
Since the ratification of the election results held in November 2025, the Coordination Framework has begun holding meetings and conducting discussions among its forces and with other parties to decide on the position of Prime Minister, which is allocated to the Shiite component according to the custom in place after 2003.
shafaq.com
