Iraq’s Shia alliance nominates Ali al-Zaidi for prime minister

BAGHDAD: Iraq’s alliance of Shia political parties, the Coordination Framework, on Monday named Ali al-Zaidi as its candidate for the post of prime minister, according to a coalition statement.

Zaidi, who is in his 40s, is described as an Iraqi multimillionaire with business interests across several sectors. These include banking as well as the supply of Iraq’s large government food basket programme, which serves millions of people.

Under Iraq’s constitution, Zaidi now has 30 days to put together a cabinet and submit it to parliament for approval.

Nomination under Iraq’s power-sharing system

The nomination comes within Iraq’s political arrangement aimed at preventing sectarian conflict through a distribution of top state offices among the country’s main communities.

Under that system, the president is a Kurd, the prime minister is a Shia, and the speaker of parliament is a Sunni.

The Coordination Framework’s announcement formally places Zaidi in line to attempt to form the next government. His next immediate task under the constitution is to assemble a cabinet within the stipulated 30-day period and seek parliamentary backing for it.

The coalition statement did not provide further details beyond naming him as the nominee for prime minister.

Zaidi’s business profile was highlighted in the announcement, with his interests said to span multiple sectors of the Iraqi economy. Among the areas specifically identified were banking and the supply chain linked to the state food basket programme, a major government initiative that reaches millions of Iraqis.

Iraq’s constitutional and political framework has long allocated the country’s top offices along communal lines. The arrangement, as outlined in the report, assigns the presidency to a Kurd, the premiership to a Shia politician, and the parliamentary speakership to a Sunni figure.

With his nomination now announced by the Coordination Framework, Zaidi moves to the next stage of the process laid down in the constitution. That process requires him to form a cabinet within 30 days and present it before parliament for approval.