Disagreements derail the “crucial” coordination framework meeting, with the possibility of it being held after Eid al-Fitr.
Disagreements derail the “crucial” coordination framework meeting, with the possibility of it being held after Eid al-Fitr.
2026-03-10
Shafaq News – Baghdad
A source within the coordinating framework, which includes Shiite forces, revealed on Monday evening the reasons for postponing the meeting of the framework’s forces that was scheduled to decide on the nomination of the prime minister.
The source told Shafaq News Agency that “most of the forces within the framework had agreed to renew the mandate of caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, but the insistence of the framework’s candidate, Nouri al-Maliki, on his nomination, along with the rejection by some important parties in the Shiite bloc of renewing al-Sudani’s mandate, thwarted the meeting and no date was set for it to be held again.”
He added: “Official public meetings may be postponed until after the Eid al-Fitr holiday, meaning that internal meetings will continue to reach a final solution after clarifying the reasons for the rejection of the Sudanese renaming by the objecting parties.”
The leaders of the Coordination Framework were supposed to hold a meeting on Monday evening at the home of the head of the Supreme Islamic Council, Humam Hamoudi, in an attempt to decide the fate of the nomination of the head of the State of Law Coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, for the position of Prime Minister, after weeks of internal and external pressures that disrupted his transition from the Framework’s candidate to the official tasked with forming the government.
The framework, which is an alliance that includes the largest Shiite forces in parliament, occupies the position of the broadest bloc constitutionally capable of naming a candidate for prime minister after the election of the president of the republic.
Informed political sources told Shafaq News Agency that the meeting will discuss whether Maliki will remain the framework’s candidate or withdraw in favor of another consensus figure, with Maliki to inform the framework’s leaders of his final position during the meeting.
According to the same sources, the meeting was preceded by separate meetings between prominent leaders within the framework, one of which included Ammar al-Hakim, Qais al-Khazali and Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, while another meeting brought together Nouri al-Maliki, Mohsen al-Mandalawi and Humam Hamoudi, and was also attended by the Popular Mobilization Forces leader Abu Fadak al-Muhammadawi, which is a first of its kind.
The participation of Abu Fadak al-Muhammadawi, the chief of staff of the Popular Mobilization Forces, has a special political and security significance, as it comes at the height of the regional confrontation between Iran on one side and the United States and Israel on the other, and with the escalation of American warnings that Iraqi factions loyal to Tehran may expand the circle of targeting inside Iraq, while the American embassy in Baghdad was subjected to a missile attack during the past few days.
The Coordination Framework had officially nominated Maliki on January 24, a move that opened the door to negotiations to form the new government, but the process faltered as disagreements continued over the election of the President of the Republic, the constitutional entitlement that precedes assigning the candidate of the largest bloc to form the government.
Any future prime minister in Iraq will face challenges in managing the balance between Iranian influence and American pressure, as well as the issue of armed factions linked to Tehran.
Pressure increased on Maliki’s nomination after US President Donald Trump announced on January 27 that Washington would not continue to support Iraq if Maliki returned to the premiership, while Maliki later said he would welcome a decision to replace his nomination if it came from the coalition that nominated him.
shafaq.com
