Al-Maliki aide warns against stalling in Iraq’s PM nomination process
Shafaq News- Baghdad
The media director for State of Law Coalition leader Nouri Al-Maliki, Hisham Al-Rikabi, on Sunday criticized delays within Iraq’s Shiite Coordination Framework (CF) in naming a prime minister, while rejecting claims that Al-Maliki has been replaced as the bloc’s candidate.
On X, Al-Rikabi urged political forces to act decisively within constitutional timelines, warning against “prolonging delays or shifting blame” following the election of President Nizar Amedi. He maintained that the nominee of the CF, the largest parliamentary bloc holding 185 of parliament’s 329 seats, remains unchanged and dismissed reports that a recent meeting was postponed due to difficulty contacting Al-Maliki.
من يسعى لتشكيل حكومة ضمن المدد الدستورية، عليه التحلي بالحزم واتخاذ قرارات جريئة، لا الاستمرار في المماطلة أو تحميل الأطراف الأخرى مسؤولية التأخير.الإطار ما زال مرشحه لرئاسة الوزراء الذي أُعلن رسمياً ولم يُستبدل. وما يُتداول بشأن تأجيل اجتماع السبت بذريعة صعوبة التواصل مع…
— هشام الركابي (@HushamHamad) April 19, 2026
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The bloc, he added, retains the option to revise its nomination through the same majority mechanism used for selection.
A political source had told Shafaq News that a scheduled Framework meeting was postponed from Saturday to Monday at the request of caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani. Speaking to our agency, MP Othman Al-Shaibani, who is close to Al-Maliki and whose bloc holds 29 seats, accused Al-Sudani of obstructing the meeting to “buy time” and allow external interference.
No immediate response was available from Al-Sudani’s bloc, Al Ima’ar wal Tanmiya (Reconstruction and Development), which holds 46 seats.
Under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing system, the presidency is held by a Kurd, the premiership by a Shiite, and the speakership by a Sunni Arab. Parliament elected Amedi as president on April 11, triggering the process to nominate a prime minister. The CF has 15 days to present its candidate, after which the nominee has 30 days to form a government and secure parliamentary confidence under Article 76 of the constitution.
So far, internal negotiations have not produced consensus, prompting some leaders to call for additional time to finalize the decision.
