In Iraq, the bulk bloc helps the appointment of Nouri Al-Maliki as prime minister | EUROtoday

The fundamental Iraqi Shiite alliance, which holds the bulk in Parliament, on Saturday January 24 supported the candidacy of former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki for a brand new mandate as head of presidency.

The Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shiite factions with various ties to Iran, stated in a press release that it had “decided, by a majority of votes, to designate” Mr. Maliki as Prime Minister “as a candidate from the largest parliamentary bloc”. The doc mentions, based on Agence France-Presse, “his political and administrative experience and his career in state management”.

Mr. Maliki, 75, is a central determine in Iraqi political life and the one prime minister to have served two phrases (2006-2014) because the American invasion of 2003, which ended the ability of Saddam Hussein. Since this date, in accordance with customized in Iraq, the submit of prime minister has gone to a Shiite, the presidency of Parliament to a Sunni, whereas the presidency of the Republic, largely honorary, has been awarded to a Kurd.

Tough discussions

After the legislative elections of November 2025, the Coordination Framework, of which Mr. Maliki is a member, constituted the bulk bloc. The alliance then started robust discussions to designate the subsequent head of presidency, alongside negotiations with Sunni and Kurdish events on the distribution of different positions.

The Iraqi Parliament elected a president in December and should meet quickly to elect a brand new President of the Republic. It is he who will then appoint the successor to the present head of presidency, Mohammed Chia Al-Soudani.

Mr. Maliki has, up to now, been accused of corruption and of getting fueled the sectarian divisions which undermined the nation till the rise of the jihadist group Islamic State.