Iraq’s prime minister steps aside for rival in post-election wrangling over government

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, whose bloc won the largest share of seats in November's parliamentary elections, has stepped aside to clear the field for a rival, former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, two Iraqi officials said Tuesday.

The officials - a senior leader in al-Sudani's Reconstruction and Development Coalition and a government official - spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Al-Sudani's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Al-Sudani's Reconstruction and Development Coalition won 46 seats in the 329-seat parliament, while the coalition led by al-Maliki won 30 seats. Both men had sought the backing of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Iran-backed Shiite parties that brought al-Sudani to power in 2022.

The two Iraqi officials said the Coordination Framework was unable to choose between the top contenders and left it to the candidates themselves to decide. A meeting between al-Sudani and al-Maliki agreed that al-Sudani would step aside in favor of al-Maliki, they said.

The incoming government will face major economic and political challenges. The most contentious is the future of the country's armed groups, particularly the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of mostly Shiite militias that formed to fight the Islamic State group as it rampaged across Iraq more than a decade ago.

It was formally placed under the control of the Iraqi military in 2016, but in practice still operates with significant autonomy. The U.S. has been pushing for Iraq to disarm Iran-backed groups - a difficult proposition, given the political power that many of them hold.

As politicians wrangle over government formation, Iraq's judiciary has waded into the debate on the issue of non-state weapons.

In a speech earlier this month, Judge Faiq Zidan, head of Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, said there were no longer a need for weapons outside the Iraqi state following the defeat of terrorism. He said that a functioning state depends on respect for the law, unified decision-making and "exclusive state control of weapons."

Some political forces welcomed Zidan's statement as a step toward strengthening state institutions and consolidating government authority, but armed groups pushed back against it.

The Iraqi Resistance Coordination group, which includes powerful armed factions such as Kataib Hezbollah, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, issued a statement rejecting any discussion about their weapons.

The group described its arms as "a guarantee to defend the country and its sacred sites" and highlighted its role in combating IS. It added that any dialogue on the issue, including with the government, must take place "after full sovereignty is achieved," rejecting what it called foreign interference.

A judicial official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists said that Zidan "has laid out a comprehensive legal framework for the disarmament process."

"The refusal by some factions to disarm will not prevent the judiciary from supporting the incoming Iraqi government by providing legal cover and judicial backing for the disarmament process," he said.

The judiciary has also taken a stronger stance in the post-election period on enforcing constitutional deadlines for government formation, including naming the speaker of parliament and the president.

Analyst Ihsan Al-Shammari, professor at the University of Baghdad, said this represents one of the most assertive judicial interventions in Iraq since 2003, when the current political system was established following the U.S.-led invasion that unseated Saddam Hussein.