KRG Premier Masrour Barzani Receives Nouri al-Maliki in Erbil as Government Formation Talks Intensify

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, on Saturday, received Nouri al-Maliki, head of the State of Law Coalition, in Erbil, where both sides held in-depth talks on Iraq’s political landscape following the Nov. 11 parliamentary elections.

According to the meeting readout, Barzani and Maliki reviewed the overall situation in Iraq after the vote and discussed ongoing negotiations among political blocs to form the next federal government.

In another part of the meeting, both leaders stressed the importance of resolving outstanding disputes between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government, emphasizing that any long-term settlement must be grounded in the Iraqi Constitution and prior agreements.

In the Nov. 11 elections, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by President Masoud Barzani, secured 27 seats with 1,109,297 votes, while Maliki’s State of Law Coalition won 29 seats with 728,446 votes.

Following every Iraqi parliamentary election, leading Arab Shiite and Sunni politicians traditionally visit the KDP leadership—particularly President Masoud Barzani and KDP Deputy Leader Masrour Barzani—to seek the party’s pivotal support in forming the federal government.

Earlier on Saturday, the Islamic Dawa Party formally and unanimously nominated Nouri al-Maliki as its candidate for Iraq’s next prime minister, marking a significant potential return of Maliki to the country’s highest executive position.

His nomination was announced shortly after he landed in Erbil to lead a high-level delegation from the Coordination Framework for critical talks with top KDP leaders.

Speaking to the media in Baghdad, Maliki dismissed rumors of an internal move to block outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani within the Shiite coalition.

“There is no decision within the Coordination Framework to prevent Sudani from the position of Prime Minister of Iraq,” he said. However, Maliki noted that any candidate must meet specific criteria set by the Framework, signaling a rigorous vetting process before a final nominee is agreed upon.

Maliki also projected an optimistic timeline, stating that the next government could be formed “within a month after the ratification of the election results,” emphasizing that the transition depends primarily on political consensus—a goal Iraqi leaders are eager to achieve to avoid the prolonged deadlocks that characterized previous government formations.