Iraqi parliamentary Shiite blocs name candidate for new PM

BAGHDAD, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The Shiite political blocs in the Iraqi parliament on Monday nominated Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani for the post of prime minister, months after failing to form a government due to a political row.

The Coordination Framework, an umbrella group of Shiite parliamentary parties, said in a statement that the nomination came after a meeting held earlier in the day, during which the leaders of the Framework parties unanimously agreed to nominate al-Sudani for the post.

The Coordination Framework became the largest alliance in the Iraqi parliament after the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers in the Sadrist Movement, the biggest winner in the elections held on Oct. 10, 2021, with 73 seats, to withdraw from the parliament.

During the past months, the continuing disputes among the Shiite parties have hampered the formation of a new Iraqi government, as the parliament has been unable to elect a new president by a two-thirds majority of the 329-seat parliament under the constitution.

According to the power-sharing system in Iraq after 2003, the presidency should be reserved for the Kurds, the speaker's post for the Sunnis, and the prime minister's post for the Shiites.

However, the dispute is continuing between the main Kurdish parties: the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, over the nomination of a new candidate for the president post.

If elected, the president will appoint the prime minister nominated by the largest alliance in the parliament, the Coordination Framework, to form a new government that would rule the country for the coming four years.