BAGHDAD: Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, whose bloc won the largest share of seats in November’s parliamentary elections, has stepped aside to clear the field for a rival, former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, two Iraqi officials said Tuesday.
The officials — a senior leader in Al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition and a government official — spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Al-Sudani’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition won 46 seats in the 329-seat parliament, while the coalition led by Al-Maliki won 30 seats. Both men had sought the backing of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Iran-backed Shiite parties that brought Al-Sudani to power in 2022.
The two Iraqi officials said the Coordination Framework was unable to choose between the top contenders and left it to the candidates themselves to decide. A meeting between Al-Sudani and Al-Maliki agreed that Al-Sudani would step aside in favor of Al-Maliki, they said.
The incoming government will face major economic and political challenges. The most contentious is the future of the country’s armed groups, particularly the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of mostly Shiite militias that formed to fight the Daesh group as it rampaged across Iraq more than a decade ago.
