صراع الرئاسات يحتدم في العراق

A data war has erupted among the poles of the coordination framework over the selection of the new prime minister, with each political bloc considering its leader the most suitable to lead the new government.

The data war within the ruling framework in Iraq is not the only one ignited; the contagion has spread to the National Political Council, which includes the Sunni component that is struggling for the presidency of the House of Representatives. Leaders such as Mohammed Halabousi, the head of the Progress Party, former Minister of Education Mohammed Tamim, Minister of Defense Thabet Mohammed al-Abbasi, and leader of the Azm Alliance, Muthanna al-Samarrai, along with Salem al-Eisawi and Mahmoud al-Qaisi, are all nominating themselves for the presidency of the House of Representatives, while the coordination framework, which includes the Shiite component, is witnessing disagreements over the selection of the prime minister.

The Struggle for the Government Chair

Returning to the struggle for the prime minister's position, the competition has intensified between the two strongest contenders: current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Nouri al-Maliki, who is strongly eager to return to this position.

It is clear from the statements of the framework's forces that the issue of selecting the prime minister remains contentious. Al-Maliki's coalition believes that its leader's chances are now stronger than those of al-Sudani, and that al-Maliki's nomination reflects the desire of most blocs and parties from various components.

The latest tactic used by al-Maliki's coalition against al-Sudani's coalition is the ability of al-Maliki, when he holds the prime minister's office, to negotiate the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the factions.

Observers have considered that al-Maliki's claims about his ability to disarm the factions are internal and external messages, even though the Iraqi government has faced the issue of "weapons outside the framework of the state" for years, as it asserts that the spread of medium and heavy weapons among some factions poses a challenge to enhancing stability and establishing the rule of law.

Factions' Weapons

The outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani believes that disarming the armed factions is linked to the presence of the international coalition in Iraq, which some factions consider an occupying force.

He clarified that Iraq is committed to placing all weapons under state control, and that the future program will include integrating the factions into the security or defense forces through the surrender of their weapons.

Meanwhile, the leader of the State of Law Coalition, Nouri al-Maliki, states that "the armed factions have expressed their desire to engage within state institutions and surrender their heavy weapons."

For its part, the United States continues its repeated calls to Baghdad to ensure the control of the armed factions and reduce attacks targeting American forces or interests, affirming its support for the government's efforts to strengthen security institutions.

The Most Prominent Candidates

For his part, a source from within the coordination framework revealed that "the number of candidates most likely to win the premiership has significantly reduced to a few names, led by the caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, in addition to al-Abadi and al-Maliki, with candidates like Asaad al-Eidani and others entering the shortlist.

He indicated that "this list is moving forward, unless a new variable arises in the local or regional political scene."

The candidate evaluation committee for the prime minister position affiliated with the coordination framework found that the nominated names come from different parliamentary blocs, as well as others from various parties, in addition to some independent candidates. However, most of these do not meet the competition criteria for the prime minister position, according to their statement.

The coordination framework had previously set the conditions and criteria that must be met by candidates for the new prime minister position, the most important of which is that they should not be a leader of a political bloc.

Strong Competition

In a significant and noteworthy development, the Victory Alliance, led by former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, revealed that its leader rejected the nomination for the premiership and that his name was proposed by the coordination framework, indicating that the upcoming meeting of the framework could be decisive in determining the identity of the new Prime Minister.

The spokesperson for the Victory Alliance, Salam al-Zubaidi, stated that "the forces of the coordination framework are the ones who included the name of former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in the list of candidates for the new government, despite his rejection."

He added that "there are national and external entitlements, including internal and external files and challenges; thus, the candidate's ability to deal with them is one of the most important criteria and determinants that must be available in the personality of the next Prime Minister."

He clarified that "al-Abadi does not accept to work under a formula that restricts or confines him; therefore, the matter of selecting the candidate for the next government requires more understandings, and the upcoming meeting of the coordination framework scheduled for next Monday may witness the crystallization of the identity of the new Prime Minister."

He confirmed that "the chances of all candidates for the premiership are equal at this moment; there is no preference for one personality over another, except by the criteria set by the framework," pointing out that "whoever meets the criteria for managing the upcoming phase, and who accepts regional and international challenges and achieves internal and external satisfaction will be the Prime Minister, and that determining the identity of the President of the Republic and the Parliament will certainly influence the selection of the most suitable Prime Minister."