Maliki raises the bar for “withdrawal” conditions, and the framework is considering “risking” the issue.
Maliki raises the bar for “withdrawal” conditions, and the framework is considering “risking” the issue.
2026-02-22 03:08
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Well-informed political sources reported on Sunday that Nouri al-Maliki, leader of the State of Law Coalition, insists that any decision to withdraw his candidacy for the presidency of the new, faltering government must be issued by a majority of the leaders of the Coordination Framework exclusively, and not as a result of external pressure. This move places the responsibility for the decision in the hands of the Frameworkâs leaders and simultaneously eliminates the cost of an individual withdrawal announcement that could be interpreted as compliance with an American veto.
Sources close to the political decision-making center told Shafaq News that Maliki realizes that announcing his withdrawal would be interpreted politically as a capitulation to American objections, while the leaders of the framework, in turn, realize that voting to withdraw his nomination would make them appear as having yielded to the same pressure, making the decision fraught with a double internal cost.
According to the sources, this complexity contributed to the disruption of official meetings of the framework more than once during the past days, with the discussion moving to side channels and attempts to round the corners, including the request of some leaders of the framework for political figures to play the role of mediation to convince al-Maliki to back down in a formula that does not burden any party with the burden of public concession.
She also noted that leaders within the framework have already begun discussions to gather a majority vote to withdraw al-Maliki’s nomination during their upcoming meeting in the coming hours.
This comes as reports have escalated in recent weeks about American messages and warnings regarding the repercussions of proceeding with al-Maliki’s nomination, including threats of sanctions or a reassessment of cooperation paths.
shafaq.com
