Iraq’s dominant political bloc nominates Nouri al-Maliki for prime minister

Iraq’s Coordination Framework, the Arab country’s largest parliamentary bloc, has announced that it has nominated Nouri al-Maliki for the post of prime minister.

In a statement issued on Saturday and carried by the Iraqi News Agency, the Coordination Framework said the decision had followed an expanded meeting of its leadership, during which current political developments and the next phase of the process were discussed.

The bloc said the nomination had been made by majority vote after an in-depth and extensive discussion, naming al-Maliki as the candidate of the framework.

The bloc cited al-Maliki’s political and administrative experience and his role in managing state affairs, apparently referring to some of the reasons prompting the inclination towards its opting for his candidacy.  

Al-Maliki served as the prime minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and as the country’s vice president from 2014 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2018. He currently heads the Islamic Dawa Party political movement.

The Coordination Framework reaffirmed its full commitment to the constitutional path, stressing its readiness to work with all national political forces to form a strong and effective government capable of confronting challenges, delivering services, and safeguarding Iraq’s security and unity.

The statement also called on the Iraqi Council of Representatives, the country’s legislature, to convene its session to elect a president of the republic in line with constitutional timelines, as part of completing the remaining constitutional requirements.

The announcement came amid reports that the United States has threatened Iraqi officials that it could impose financial sanctions targeting the Iraqi state, including potentially restricting its access to vital oil revenues, if certain political factions were included in the next government, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters recently.

According to three Iraqi officials and one additional source, the message was delivered repeatedly over the past two months by US Chargé d’Affaires Joshua Harris to high-level Iraqi figures, including Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, senior cleric Ammar al-Hakim, head of the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance in the parliament, and Kurdish official Masrour Barzani.

The sources said the US has warned that the inclusion of a group of 58 MPs targeted by Washington would lead to a suspension of diplomatic engagement and halting of dollar transfers.

Iraq, one of the top oil producers in the West Asia region, maintains its oil revenues in a Central Bank account held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

While US administrations have previously sanctioned individual banks within Iraq, a suspension of dollar transfers from oil revenues would mark a dramatic escalation, observers note.

“The American line was basically that they would suspend engagement with the new government should any of those 58 MPs be represented in cabinet,” one Iraqi official said. “They said it meant they wouldn’t deal with that government and would suspend dollar transfers.”

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