ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq's ruling Shiite Coordination Framework on Saturday nominated State of Law Coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki to reassume the post of prime minister for a third term, his office confirmed to The New Region.

The decision comes after months of meetings and deliberation between the Framework's member parties, with several potential candidates vying for the post, including incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, who has held office since 2022.

Media affiliated with Asaib Ahl al-Haq reported earlier on Saturday that Sudani had stepped down from the race for premiership, and endorsed Maliki for the position.

Less than two weeks after Iraq concluded its sixth parliamentary elections, the Islamic Dawa Party announced in late November that it was fielding its leader Maliki for the premiership.

Maliki has already served as Iraq’s prime minister for two terms since 2006. He resigned from the post during his second term in August 2014, following a series of major defeats Iraqi armed forces suffered at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS) earlier that year. Nonetheless, his eight years in power had already been marred by allegations of corruption way before his resignation.

The leader of the Dawa Party remains a strong force in Iraqi politics, having been a key pillar in the currently-ruling Coordination Framework and presided over multiple episodes of prickly relations between Baghdad and Erbil.

Maliki's State of Law Coalition came in third place in Iraq’s recent parliamentary elections, securing 29 seats out of the 329-seat legislature. The other two top parties were the Reconstruction and Development Alliance, led by Sudani, and the Sunni Taqadum Party, led by Mohammed al-Halbousi.

Taqadum’s Haibat al-Halbousi was elected as Speaker of Parliament in late December.

The next step in the Iraqi government formation is the election of the president, which must be completed by January 28.

The elected president then names a prime minister-designate selected by the parliament’s top bloc, in this case Framework’s Maliki, and tasks him with forming the next Iraqi cabinet in accordance with constitutional timelines.