Iraq: PM or Presidency first?
The Grand Coordination Framework Coalition (the Grand Coalition of Shiites in Parliament) held its first meeting with all its members this week and, in the first step to determine the prime ministerial candidate, introduced itself as the largest faction with 187 seats out of the total 329 seats in parliament.
The coalition also formed two committees, one in charge of interviewing the prime ministerial candidates within the Coordination Framework Coalition and the other in charge of communicating with other major groups, including Sunnis and Kurds, to reach an understanding and agreement with them on the process of forming the first session of parliament and naming the president and the future government, and the general policy that the government should adopt in the next phase.
Iraqi media announced on Thursday that the first committee consists of three of the leaders of the Coordination Framework Coalition’s front line to decide on a suitable prime ministerial candidate, including former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Speaker of the Islamic Supreme Council Humam Hamoudi, and Falih al-Fayyadh (head of the Al-Ataa Movement and current head of the Popular Mobilization Forces).
According to published reports, after the final approval of the results of the sixth round of Iraqi parliamentary elections by the country’s Central Supreme Court, the Coordination Framework Alliance will announce the candidate for the post of prime minister, without mentioning the names of the candidates in question for this post.
At this stage, to build trust within the Shiite political establishment, the Coordination Framework Alliance intends to present the name of the prime minister’s candidate to the highest religious authority in Iraq, as well as the leader of the Sadr Movement – who preferred to withdraw from the electoral race during this round of elections – and after obtaining their positive opinion, make his name public.
Some Iraqi media outlets, citing sources close to the Coordination Framework, reported today that the Coordination Framework Alliance has identified the characteristics of the prime minister’s candidate, which include good character and conduct, strong relations with the United States and Iran, and a commitment not to form a political party.
The last defined characteristic is that the new prime minister will allow the Coordination Framework Alliance to select the members of the Prime Minister’s Special Office.