PM selection criteria do not apply to Al-Sudani and Al-Maliki, CF official says

Shafaq News– Baghdad

The criteria set by the Coordination Framework (CF), a coalition of Iraq’s ruling Shiite political forces, to nominate Iraq’s next prime minister do not apply to incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani or former premier Nouri al-Maliki, CF member Abdul Rahman al-Jazaeri told Shafaq News on Saturday.

Al-Jazaeri said the CF has not yet put forward a final nominee for the premiership, explaining that if neither Al-Sudani nor Al-Maliki withdraws in favor of the other and both remain committed to their bids, the bloc would move toward selecting a consensus candidate acceptable to all sides.

He noted that the agreed-upon standards for naming the next prime minister also do not apply to other names circulated as potential candidates, citing reasons he said are known to CF leaders.

Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Al-Hikma Movement (Wisdom), stated that the CF has selected nine candidates for the post of prime minister.

Iraq’s political system allocates the premiership to a Shiite figure, the speakership to a Sunni, and the presidency to a Kurd.

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