Baghdad: The head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party bloc in the Iraqi parliament, Shakhwan Abdullah, announced that the nomination of Nouri al-Maliki, head of the State of Law Coalition, for the position of prime minister has affected the process of electing the president, noting that no agreement has yet been reached with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on a joint candidate. The Iraqi parliament was scheduled to convene at 11:00 AM on Sunday to elect the president, but the session did not take place.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, Abdullah explained that one of the reasons for postponing the session was related to the situation within the Shia political bloc and the nomination of Nouri al-Maliki, head of the State of Law Coalition, for the position of prime minister. US President Donald Trump warned in a social media post on January 27, 2026, that the United States would no longer provide aid to Iraq if Nouri al-Maliki were elected prime minister. Trump stated that the last time Maliki was in power, the country descended into poverty and chaos. This must not be allowed to happen again.
Shakhwan Abdullah commented on this, saying, “The (American) decision has further encouraged the Shiites to insist on nominating al-Maliki, and part of the reason for the failure to hold the session to elect the president is related to this.” The main competition for the president post is between Fuad Hussein, the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s candidate, and Nizar Amidi, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s candidate.
Shakhwan Abdullah indicated that their talks with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to agree on a joint candidate are ongoing, “but so far each party has its own candidate, and both sides are insistent on their respective nominees.” A high-level delegation from the Coordination Framework is scheduled to visit Erbil tomorrow, and then Sulaimaniyah. Shakhwan Abdullah said, “They have a number of issues to discuss with him (Masoud Barzani), including the issue of the prime minister, the election of president, and the issues of Iraq and Syria.”