On 9 February, Iraq’s Coordination Framework proposed a three-point initiative in order to break the political impasse the country is facing.

The ad hoc alliance of Shia parties called on all political factions and national figures via statement to “communicate and engage in dialogue to achieve the constitutional obligations,” and urged the largest political bloc to “agree on criteria for choosing a strong and efficient prime minister.”

“We declare our full readiness to interact positively with all the propositions, ideas and visions that will be presented by our partners in the homeland, with whom we have one destiny. We all have to do our best to serve the Iraqis as a people who have suffered a lot over the past period,” the statement added.

The framework also announced it is extending its hand “to the political forces constituting the largest parliamentary bloc, especially the Sadrist movement.”

On 8 February, Iraq’s Council of Representatives announced in a statement the re-opening of registration for the office of the President of the Republic, which is set to last for a period of three days.

This follows the 5 February announcement of the Sadrist bloc, which won elections last October, that it had suspended all negotiations for the formation of the Iraqi government and had called for a boycott of the parliamentary session to elect a president.

As a result, the presidential vote on 7 February was cancelled due to only 58 of the 329 members being present, less than the required two-thirds quorum needed in parliament to elect a new head of state.

The Sadrist movement, headed by prominent Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, formed the largest parliamentary bloc in the elections that took place on 21 October last year, winning 73 out of the parliament’s 329 seats.

The presidential vote was postponed indefinitely, with an anonymous source stating on 7 February that “there will be no vote to elect the president,” further prolonging the political impasse faced by Iraq.