Crucial hours ahead… The president and the judiciary may announce the name of al-Sudani’s successor: Have the leaders of the framework failed?
Behind the scenes in the homes of the framework leaders, discussions never end. Successive meetings – bilateral and collective – are held by the coordinating forces, where the final details of the battle for the premiership are being plotted, in a scene that seems more like a race with the last 48 hours remaining on the deadline.
Within these meetings, ambitions intersect with complex calculations. Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani put six proposals on the table during his recent visit to State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki, proposals that could be the key to breaking the deadlock, or just another stop on the road to further complications.
One of the most prominent proposals involves a difficult deal—a political concession of parliamentary seats in exchange for securing the premiership—a seemingly minor obstacle that lies at the heart of the crisis. Overcoming this hurdle could pave the way for a comprehensive settlement, ending months of deadlock.
In this regard, Amer Al-Fayez, a member of the Coordination Framework, confirmed to Shafaq News Agency that the ongoing meetings “have led to important understandings to resolve the disputes,” predicting that the nomination of a candidate for the premiership will be decided within the next few hours.
On the other hand, things are not going smoothly behind closed doors. There are sharp disagreements over the distribution of portfolios and positions, especially the position of Deputy Prime Minister, which has become a point of contention between parties who see it as a political entitlement, and others who link it to parliamentary weight. The talk is about assigning it to Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, without any agreement on it.
According to informed sources who spoke to Shafaq News Agency, preliminary understandings have been reached regarding the distribution of a number of ministries, including oil, education, higher education, defense, finance, electricity, and foreign affairs, which were discussed recently in accordance with the balances of political blocs and their parliamentary sizes.
Nevertheless, some parties are talking about “important understandings” that have begun to take shape, with indications that the coming hours may bring a new name for the head of government, or at least the outlines of a preliminary agreement.
However, in the event of a failure to reach an agreement, alternative scenarios are ready on the table: a constitutional mandate from the President of the Republic, resorting to the Federal Court, or even going towards the option of an emergency government, as confirmed by the head of the political body of the National Tribal Movement, Abdul Rahman Al-Jazaeri, during his interview with Shafaq News Agency.
Between these paths, the scene remains open to all possibilities, while attention is focused on a crucial meeting that may be held on Friday, where the end of the crisis may be written, or the beginning of a new chapter of it that goes beyond the framework houses to include the entire political process.
With Iraq entering the post-election phase of President Nizar Amidi, attention is turning to the most important entitlement, which is the formation of the new government, amidst heated political debate within the coordination framework regarding the prime minister candidate.
Politicians agree that the formation of the Iraqi government has many drawbacks, but they fundamentally disagree on how to characterize the crisis, with some seeing it as a serious political deadlock that threatens stability, and others considering it merely a normal dialogue within the constitutional framework.
The coordinating framework had set a date for a crucial meeting last Saturday, before postponing it to Monday, with the aim of deciding on a candidate for the premiership. However, the meeting ended without reaching a final agreement, so it was postponed to Wednesday, before being postponed again to Friday.
Shafaq.com