Who is next in line to be Iraq's Prime Minister?

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – More than 50 days since Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi’s resignation, Shiite political parties are failing to find consensus on a new leader that can satisfy protesters rallying on streets across Iraq. 

After only one year in office, Abdul-Mahdi resigned in late November after Iraqi protesters piled pressure on the government to resign, as well as a direct call from  the highest Shiite authority in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to step down.

Since then, Iraq’s various political blocs have been locked in talks to nominate a suitable candidate to replace Abdul-Mahdi.

Amjad Aqabi, a Sairoon MP, told Rudaw on Wednesday that his party aims for a candidate that will be accepted by the protesters. 

“We want someone...who is independent, [without] dual citizenship, and familiar with Iraqi struggles,” Aqabi said. 

“Sairoon will accept and support the candidate who would earn the acceptance of the Iraqi street and protesters,” he added. 

However, Bina coalition has not given up on pushing its agenda, despite the rejection of all of their candidates in the past weeks.

Bina, headed by Hadi al-Amiri, counts former Iraqi Prime Minister  Nouri al-Maliki and political parties affiliated with  Iran-backed Popular  Mobilization Forces (PMF) paramilitaries among its membership.

Muhammad Baldawi,an MP in the Faith Alliance, which heads the Bina coalition,  told Rudaw on Wednesday that Bina have candidates in mind but will not release their names in order to avoid media smear campaigns. 

“We have offered some names, but we still have some other names that won’t be revealed for now so as to not face media destruction campaigns or  any defamation from some media,” Baldawi said. 

“The name of the candidate of Bina coalition to be [the] next Iraqi PM will be directly announced when  he gets the approval of the Iraqi President,” he added.

Both Sairoon and Bina are linked to Iran. Foreign influence in Iraq, particularly at the hands of Tehran and Washington, has been a key grievance for Iraqi protesters, who have torched several Iranian consulates since demonstrations began. 

Iraqis have been protesting in central and southern parts of Iraq for  more than 110 days, demanding real change in the country and  threatening to topple the political class that has held power since  2005.

A protester in Tahrir Square told Rudaw on Wednesday that the new  Iraqi PM should be fully independent from political parties and have not held any governmental position since 2003.

“We want someone who loves Iraq, and has no ties with regional  countries," they added.

Another protester, who is in his 60s, told Rudaw on Wednesday that “we  have given a lot of martyrs and blood, and we won’t be satisfied by only changing the Iraqi PM, but removing the whole government.”

Protesters have been met with brutal force from security forces, many  being killed after being hit with tear-gas canisters.

More than 520 protesters and members of the security forces have been  killed and around 17,000 more wounded since October 1.

After a period of relative tranquility, a wave of violence resumed in  many central and southern provinces of Iraq on Sunday, after  protesters decided to block new roads and bridges in Baghdad and other  southern cities in order to put more pressure on the Iraqi government  and the political parties to hear the demands of the protesters.

At least 10 protesters have been killed and more than 150 wounded since Sunday, according to the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights.