One vote remains… Al Jazeera sources suggest the name of the new Iraqi Prime Minister

One vote remains… Al Jazeera sources suggest the name of the new Iraqi Prime Minister

17/4/2026

Baghdad – After realizing the inability to reach a consensus on the selection of the new Iraqi Prime Minister, informed sources told Al Jazeera Net that the forces within the Coordination Framework , the bloc that holds the largest number of members in the Iraqi Parliament , are moving towards agreeing to pass the candidate for Prime Minister, Basim al-Badri, with a two-thirds majority.

The sources added that the agreement stipulates that whoever obtains the support of 8 of the framework leaders will be the official candidate, provided that he has the support of all the leaders when voting on his government.

She indicated that the current competition is between two candidates: Basim al-Badri, head of the National Accountability and Justice Commission, and current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani . She explained that the decision will be made either today, Friday, or tomorrow, Saturday, at the latest, as the scales are tipping in favor of al-Badri, who currently enjoys the support of seven leaders within the framework, needing only one more to reach the two-thirds threshold.

Al-Badri has been the head of the Accountability and Justice Commission since 2013. This commission was established by the civil administrator in Iraq , Paul Bremer , under the name “De-Baathification Commission,” and it has removed a large number of politicians, military and security leaders on the grounds of their affiliation with the Baath Party or their work with the regime of former President Saddam Hussein before 2003.

internationally agreed candidate
Sources within Al Jazeera Net’s coordination framework revealed a division within the framework regarding a proposal that has not yet been discussed extensively, which is to put forward a candidate from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s bloc, provided that it is not al-Sudani himself.

She pointed out that the ongoing war in the region and its repercussions on Iraq prompted the framework to search for a safe candidate who would balance the relationship between Iran and the United States , “even if he is too American,” as she put it.

This option is justified by the fact that the new situation requires a strong Iraqi government capable of confronting armed factions and restoring the concept of the state.

The head of the Accountability and Justice Commission, Basim al-Badri, is nearing nomination to form the next government. Iraqi President Hosni Mubarak is expected to task Nizar Amidi , the candidate of the Coordination Framework, with forming the government by the 25th of this month at the latest.

The framework includes 12 Shiite blocs that have tried throughout the past period to reach a candidate to form the government, but have failed to achieve consensus.

Polarization within the framework
In an analysis of the political landscape, the process of selecting a prime ministerial candidate within the coordinating framework remains complex and unresolved, given the internal and external political interference affecting the consensus-building process. Ihsan al-Shammari, head of the Center for Political Thought, told Al Jazeera Net that he does not expect the framework to finalize its candidate within the next two days.

Al-Shammari added that the forces within the framework are experiencing a state of sharp polarization, and the dialogues may continue to come up with a compromise candidate before the end of the constitutional period for assigning the candidate to form the government.

He pointed out that the issue is not only about the position of Prime Minister, as the dialogues are supposed to resolve another important issue, which is the distribution of ministries between parties and blocs, which by its nature requires more time.

Al-Shammari believes that the coordination framework may capitalize on the calm in the region following the cessation of hostilities between the United States and Iran, in order to avoid exceeding the constitutional deadline for selecting the Prime Minister.

He spoke of a genuine desire to choose a prime minister acceptable to both the US administration and the Iranian side, in order to avoid repeating the experience of putting forward Nouri al-Maliki , which met with strong objection from Washington , and which his opponents exploited to weaken his chances.

The Coordination Framework had put forward al-Maliki’s name for the position of Prime Minister, but this nomination was met with rejection from US President Donald Trump , who threatened not to cooperate with Iraq, as well as objections from forces within the Coordination Framework, including the Wisdom Movement led by Ammar al-Hakim, and the “ Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq ” movement led by Qais al-Khazali.

aljazeera.net