BAGHDAD: Iraq&#39;s newly elected president nominated businessman Ali al-Zaidi as the country&#39;s prime minister-designate on Monday, after the country&#39;s leaders yielded to US pressure not to support the bid of a former premier close to Iran.&nbsp;The Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shia factions with varying links to Iran, had initially backed powerbroker Nouri al-Maliki to become the country&#39;s next premier, but an ultimatum by US President Donald Trump left Iraqi leaders looking elsewhere.&nbsp;For weeks, they were locked in intense discussions to settle the question and avoid punitive measures after Trump threatened in January to cut all support for Iraq if two-time ex-premier Maliki, who has close ties to Iran, returned to power.&nbsp;&quot;President Nizar Amede has tasked Ali al-Zaidi, the candidate of the largest parliamentary bloc, with forming the new government,&quot; the presidency said in a statement.&nbsp;Zaidi will now have 30 days to form a government &mdash; a daunting task in a country where constitutional deadlines are rarely respected.&nbsp;The announcement came shortly after the Coordination Framework endorsed Zaidi as its candidate.&nbsp;The alliance also praised &quot;the historic and responsible stance&quot; of Maliki and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani &quot;for withdrawing&quot; their candidacies.&nbsp;Yasser al-Maliki, the head of Maliki&#39;s parliamentary bloc, congratulated the PM-designate and said &quot;we will support him&quot; in his mission to form a government.&nbsp;Following the 2003 invasion that overthrew former ruler Saddam Hussein, the US has held major sway in Iraq.&nbsp;But the invasion has also paved the way for the US&#39; archenemy Iran in the country&#39;s halls of power.&nbsp;Since then, the country&#39;s leaders have struggled to balance relations between Washington and Tehran.&nbsp;&#39;Has the tools&#39;By convention, a Shia holds the powerful post of prime minister, the parliament speaker is a Sunni, and the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd.&nbsp;Seen as a compromise figure, Zaidi is little known in political circles.&nbsp;He is a businessman, banker and owner of a television channel, and has never held a government post.&nbsp;If he succeeds in forming a government, Zaidi will become Iraq&#39;s youngest prime minister at the age of 40.&nbsp;Political analyst Hamzeh Hadad said it appeared that Zaidi &quot;has the tools&quot; as a banker and TV channel owner &quot;to help him sway people and politicians&quot;.&nbsp;His nomination also &quot;allows the Coordination Framework to claim they are abiding by the constitutional timeline,&quot; whether he ends up forming a government or not.&nbsp;In recent years, and after decades of conflicts, oil-rich Iraq has begun to enjoy some stability, yet its politics remain volatile, shaped not only by internal disputes but also by regional dynamics.&nbsp;Regional warThe new nomination came against the backdrop of a regional war ignited by a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran.&nbsp;Iraq was&nbsp;dragged&nbsp;into the Middle East conflict, with strikes targeting both US interests and Tehran-backed groups in the country.&nbsp;During the war, Iraqi leaders scaled back their talks to settle the premiership question, and only resumed them intensively a few days after a fragile US-Iran ceasefire took effect on April 8.&nbsp;Iraq&#39;s new premier will be expected to address Washington&#39;s longstanding demand that Baghdad disarm Iran-backed groups, which the US has designated as terrorist organizations.&nbsp;From the onset of the war, these groups targeted US interests in Iraq and the broader region.&nbsp;The new PM will also need to repair Iraq&#39;s relations with Gulf countries, which have protested attacks by Tehran-backed groups on their territory during the war.&nbsp;Zaidi will have to address Iraq&#39;s many economic woes, particularly after the sharp drop in income caused by the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, given that oil exports make up some 90% of the country&#39;s budget revenues.

This handout photograph taken and released by the Iraqi Presidency Press Office on April 27, 2026, shows Iraq's President Nizar Amede (C) shaking hands with the newly elected Iraq's Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi (R), at the Presidential Palace in Baghdad. (

Middle East

Constitutionally, Ali al-Zaidi, the candidate of the largest parliamentary bloc, has 30 days to form a government.

Iraqi president nominates Ali al-Zaidi as PM-designate

BAGHDAD: Incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani claimed victory for his coalition on Wednesday in Iraq&#39;s general election after preliminary results showed it had secured a decisive lead. Supporters of Sudani, who is vying for a second term, flocked late in the evening to Tahrir Square in Baghdad to celebrate with fireworks and music, according to AFP correspondents. Casting the victory as one for all Iraqis in a televised speech, Sudani congratulated the country &quot;on your coalition winning first place in the parliamentary elections.&quot; &quot;Our coalition, &#39;Reconstruction and Development&#39;, is first,&quot; Sudani said separately on X, expressing &quot;deep gratitude to the Iraqi people for their support.&quot; Iraqis went to the polls on Tuesday for a general election that came as the country experienced a rare moment of calm in a region roiled by recent conflicts. The next premier must answer to Iraqis seeking jobs, better infrastructure, and improved education and health systems in a country plagued by corruption and mismanagement. But he also faces the unenviable task of maintaining the delicate balance between Iraq&#39;s allies &mdash; arch foes Iran and the United States &mdash; made all the more delicate by recent seismic changes in the Middle East. Iraq&#39;s electoral commission announced preliminary results on Wednesday evening showing Sudani&#39;s candidate list in the lead with more than 1.3 million votes &mdash; about 370,000 more than the next closest competitor. The commission said on Tuesday that more than 12 million people took part out of 21 million eligible voters, despite influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr calling on his supporters to boycott the poll. While vote counts for each list by province were released, seat allocations in parliament will not be announced until later. Difficult taskAn official close to Sudani had told AFP before the count was announced that his list was sailing to &quot;a major victory.&quot; Another two sources estimated Sudani&#39;s alliance had won the largest bloc, estimating it would take approximately 50 seats out of a total of 329. Once final results are confirmed, lawmakers are set to begin negotiations to nominate the prime minister &mdash; an often-painstaking task that has at times taken months. With an outright majority almost impossible to achieve by any single list, who gets the role is determined by whatever coalition can secure enough post-election partnerships to form the largest alliance. In Iraq, the prime ministership goes to the Shiite majority, the speaker of parliament to a Sunni Muslim, and the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd. In previous parliaments, Shiite-majority parties have struck compromise deals to work together and form a government. Sudani emerged as a major force in Iraqi politics after he was brought to power three years ago by the Coordination Framework, an alliance of powerful pro-Iran Shiite parties that formed the largest parliamentary bloc. A senior Iraqi politician told AFP last month that the Coordination Framework was divided over supporting Sudani, with former prime minister Nuri al-Maliki reportedly likely to oppose a second term for the incumbent. Always a balanceEven as Iraq tries to move past two decades of war since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, the country of 46 million suffers from poor infrastructure and public services, mismanagement and corruption. Many Iraqis who boycotted the elections told AFP the vote wouldn&#39;t bring meaningful change to their daily lives and said that it was a sham that only benefits political elites and regional powers. Sudani has nonetheless vowed to continue on the path of &quot;reconstruction and development.&quot; During his three-year tenure, Baghdad has been transformed into a bustling construction hub, with new tunnels and bridges springing up across the city. He also maintains that his government helped shield Iraq from regional turmoil over the past two years. Since the US-led invasion, Iran has held sway in Iraqi politics, not only backing influential politicians but also supporting armed groups there. The past two years have seen Israel inflict heavy losses on Tehran-backed groups in the region, and Iran itself was on the receiving end of an unprecedented Israeli bombing campaign during a 12-day war in June. In addition to maintaining its foothold through the groups it backs, Tehran is also seeking to keep the Iraqi market open to products from its crippled economy. Washington, meanwhile, hopes to cripple Tehran&#39;s influence and has long pressured Baghdad to disarm Iran-backed groups.

Sudani congratulates country 'on your coalition winning first place in the parliamentary elections;' next premier must answer to Iraqis seeking jobs, better infrastructure, and improved education and health systems in a country plagued by corruption and mismanagement.

Articles tagged with "Iraq elections"

Iraqi president nominates Ali al-Zaidi as PM-designate

Iraq PM Sudani claims election win after early results show decisive lead

Iraqi president nominates Ali al-Zaidi as PM-designate