Masoud Barzani welcomes Maliki’s nomination for prime minister: We will support him.
Masoud Barzani welcomes Maliki’s nomination for prime minister: We will support him.
2026-01-25
Shafaq News – Erbil
On Saturday evening, Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani welcomed the nomination by the State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki for the position of the next Prime Minister.
Leader Barzani said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, “We welcome the decision of the Coordination Framework to nominate Nouri al-Maliki as a candidate for the position of Prime Minister of Iraq, and on this occasion, we congratulate al-Maliki on his nomination for the position, wishing him success and good fortune.”
Barzani affirmed, “We will support him in addressing the issues and disputes, and in overcoming the obstacles and challenges facing the country.”
In a phone call today, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, congratulated Nouri al-Maliki, the head of the State of Law Coalition, on his nomination for the position of Prime Minister of the Federal Government.
During the call, the Prime Minister expressed his wishes to Maliki for success and for the launch of a new phase dedicated to serving all Iraqi citizens and resolving outstanding issues between the Kurdistan Region and the Federal Government, based on the Constitution and respect for the federal entity of the Kurdistan Region.
The Coordination Framework had officially announced earlier on Saturday evening the nomination of Nouri Kamel al-Maliki for the position of Prime Minister, as the candidate of the “largest” parliamentary bloc.
On Saturday evening, the “National Decisiveness” alliance, led by Defense Minister Thabit al-Abbasi, and the “Determination” alliance, led by Muthanna al-Samarrai, officially announced their support for the nomination of Nouri al-Maliki, leader of the State of Law Coalition, as the next Prime Minister.
In this context, Mohammed al-Karbouli, a member of parliament from the Azm Alliance, said in a post on the X platform that Maliki “is the best choice for Sunnis before Shiites at this stage that the country is going through, and you may see from him good things that will make you forget the events of the past.”
He added that his alliance “will support Maliki for the premiership,” concluding his post with the hashtag #ThirdTerm.
Nouri al-Maliki’s nomination for a third term as prime minister comes amid political division, given that his previous term ended in 2014 amid major political and security crises that coincided with ISIS’s invasion of large areas of the country.
The nomination raised reservations among Sunni leaders, as the head of the Progress Party, Mohammed al-Halbousi, warned in a post dated January 19, 2026, against a return to “painful lean days,” calling for consideration of “national acceptance,” in a reference widely understood as an objection to the return of al-Maliki.
In contrast, the State of Law Coalition asserted that al-Maliki’s nomination enjoys “consensus” and “national acceptance,” denying the existence of a political veto against his name, amid concerns about the difficulty of passing any candidate who does not enjoy broad political and social acceptance.
shafaq.com
