ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework said Sunday that intensive political talks are underway to settle the post of prime minister, confirming that a meeting scheduled for Sunday was postponed until Monday to finalize details before an official announcement.

Ali al-Difai, a member of the political bureau of the Supreme Islamic Council, told The New Region that the delay was due to unfinished discussions.

“The failure to complete some technical and political dialogues led to postponing the Framework’s meeting from Sunday to Monday,” Difai said, adding that “the official announcement of the candidate’s name will take place immediately after these deliberations conclude.”

Separately, State of Law Coalition leader Zuhair al-Jalabi said the choice has already been made.

“Nouri al-Maliki is the next prime minister,” Jalabi told The New Region, saying that “understandings within the Framework’s forces have been completed, and only procedural steps remain to officially announce Maliki as the sole candidate.”

The Coordination Framework had signaled the move in a statement issued on Jan. 10, 2026, saying it had settled the identity of the next prime minister.

Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has emerged as the sole nominee of Iraq’s Shiite Coordination Framework for the premiership after incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani withdrew from the race last week.

Officials from the State of Law Coalition said the decision followed months of negotiations among Framework parties after the recent parliamentary elections, during which several names were discussed before consensus formed around Maliki.

In the elections, Maliki’s State of Law Coalition finished third with 29 seats, behind Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Alliance and the Sunni-led Taqadum Party.

Maliki previously served two terms as prime minister from 2006 to 2014, stepping down during his second term amid major security setbacks linked to the rise of the Islamic State group and ongoing corruption allegations, factors that continue to shape debate over his potential return to office.