ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Iraqi parliament on Thursday voted to extend its legislative term by an additional month to facilitate government formation and the nomination of the next prime minister, a lawmaker said. 

“The parliament has formally decided to extend the legislative term until the end of next month,” Jamal Kochar, a Kurdish lawmaker in the Iraqi parliament, told The New Region.

The legislature’s media office also confirmed the decision. 

According to Kochar, the extension is intended to facilitate the formation of the next government and allow the Coordination Framework - the largest parliamentary bloc - to nominate a candidate for prime minister. 

Under Article 76 of the Iraqi Constitution, the prime minister-designate must present his cabinet to parliament within 30 days.

The Coordination Framework is preparing to nominate a final candidate for prime minister on Friday. Informed sources told The New Region on Friday that the competition is between Ihsan al-Awadi, chief of staff to incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, and Basim al-Badri, a senior State of Law Coalition figure backed by Nouri al-Maliki.

Badri also serves as the chairman of the Accountability and Justice Commission, which probes Baath-era crimes and disqualifies officials linked to the banned party from office.

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A Monday meeting of the prominent Shiite bloc’s leaders did not see it settle on a final candidate for the post. The meeting came after an earlier session was already postponed amid disagreements inside the alliance.

The next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday but was later postponed to Friday to allow more time for discussions on a consensus candidate.