The passage of al-Maliki’s government hinges on “consensus,” and there is talk of violating the constitutional deadline.
The passage of al-Maliki’s government hinges on “consensus,” and there is talk of violating the constitutional deadline.
2026-01-26 05:18
Shafaq News – Baghdad
On Monday, a member of the coordination framework made Nouri al-Maliki’s assumption of the next government presidency contingent on reaching an agreement on his cabinet. While he expected the process to take a long time, a source close to the Sunni forces indicated the necessity for al-Maliki to reach understandings with the forces that have so far rejected his nomination.
Abu Mithaq al-Masari, a member of the framework, told Shafaq News Agency that “the government cabinet that the Shiite House candidate will present for the premiership needs a vote of half plus one of the total members of the House of Representatives.”
He added that “if the President of the Republic, who is expected to be named within the Parliament in tomorrow’s session, Tuesday, assigns the candidate of the Coordination Framework for the premiership, Nouri al-Maliki, then the latter will need the support of the members of the House of Representatives to legitimize his government cabinet, and I believe that the matter may take a long time, considering that he needs parliamentary consensus to vote in favor of his government and grant it confidence, meaning that it will not proceed if there is no consensus on it.”
For his part, a source close to the Sunni forces told Shafaq News Agency that “the decision to appoint a candidate from the Coordination Framework as Prime Minister depends on the agreement of a parliamentary majority on his cabinet.”
He explained, “If the person tasked with forming the government fails to obtain the support of the parliamentary forces linked to political leaders and figures who refuse to support him, then the constitutional period for announcing his cabinet, which is set at 30 days, will end without his government being passed. Therefore, it is necessary to reach preemptive understandings with the rejecting or opposing parties to ensure its passage.”
Last Saturday, January 24, the Coordination Framework presented Nouri al-Maliki (75 years old), the leader of the State of Law Coalition and former Iraqi Prime Minister, as a candidate for the next government, thus bringing him back to the forefront of the Iraqi political scene .
The Iraqi parliament is scheduled to hold a session on Tuesday to elect the president, in preparation for tasking the candidate of the largest bloc with forming the government, amid confirmation from supporting political forces that Maliki’s choice enjoys broad political acceptance internally and does not face regional or international objections.
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.
shafaq.com
