Iraq’s biggest political bloc postpones decision on prime minister candidate to Friday

Iraq’s Shiite-led Coordination Framework has postponed a decision on its nominee for prime minister until Friday, the bloc’s General Secretariat said on Wednesday.

The meeting to name the nominee was delayed until Friday “to create more room for dialogue and to reach a conclusion within the constitutional timeframe,” it said, according to Iraq’s official INA news agency.

The bloc’s Secretary-General Abbas al-Amiri had earlier stated on Monday that the decision on selecting a prime ministerial candidate had been postponed to Wednesday, April 22, describing internal discussions as “positive.”

The Shiite Coordination Framework has convened multiple times but has yet to agree on a candidate for prime minister.

Under Article 76 of Iraq’s constitution, the president must task the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a government within 15 days of the election of a new president.

The Coordination Framework is the largest bloc in parliament, holding about 130 to 140 seats out of 329, according to recent election results.

The alliance plays a central role in selecting the prime minister and forming the government. It announced in January its nomination of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the post, but the move faced opposition from US President Donald Trump, who called on Iraq not to appoint him as premier.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel