Iraq’s Dawa presses CF to finalize PM pick

Shafaq News– Baghdad

Iraq’s Islamic Dawa Party on Wednesday called on the Shiite Coordination Framework (CF) to agree on a nominee for prime minister and form a new government.

In a statement, the party, led by former prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki, said Iraqis were waiting for the bloc to settle its options for the premiership through a "productive mechanism." The government, it added, should be capable of facing the "internal and external" pressures.

The CF, parliament's largest bloc, has yet to finalize its choice for the post. CF leaders have been discussing alternative selection mechanisms, including whether the nominee should be determined by parliamentary weight or internal political consensus, a source earlier told Shafaq News.

Meanwhile, senior CF figures have said a decision is expected after Kurdish parties conclude negotiations over the presidency, which, under Iraq’s post-2003 power-sharing arrangement, must be resolved before the prime minister is nominated.

Under the system, the prime minister is a Shiite, the parliament speaker a Sunni, and the president a Kurd.

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