ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sunday congratulated State of Law Coalition's Nouri al-Maliki on his nomination for Iraq’s premiership, wishing him success in serving all the people of the country, and expressing hopes to resolve outstanding Erbil-Baghdad issues constitutionally.

Iraq Shiite Coordination Framework on Saturday announced the State of Law leader as its candidate for Iraq's prime minister position "by a majority vote," the ruling bloc said in a statement.

“In a phone call, we congratulated His Excellency Nouri al-Maliki, head of the State of Law Coalition, on his candidacy for the position of Federal Prime Minister,” read a statement from Prime Minister Barzani’s office.

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.

His time in office also saw the start of a years-long budgetary conflict between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) that has persisted thus far. The KRG has struggled to pay civil servant salaries consistently for over a decade as a result of sanctions imposed on it by Baghdad.

Barzani hoped for "a new phase for serving all Iraqi citizens and resolving issues between the Kurdistan Region and the Federal Government based on the constitution and respect for the federal status of the Kurdistan Region,” the statement added.

Earlier in January, reports emerged that incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, who was the main victor of Iraq's November parliamentary elections with 46 seats, had stepped down and thrown his weight behind Maliki, supporting him to reassume the position.

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.

The next step in the Iraqi government formation is the election of the president, for which the parliament said will hold a session on Tuesday, January 27.

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.