Nouri al-Maliki’s potential return to the premiership would be a profound strategic error that risks plunging Iraq back into the very crisis from which it has only partially emerged. His previous tenure from 2006 to 2014 was marked by sectarianism, repression, and systemic corruption. To reinstall the 75-year-old now, at a moment of acute regional tension and domestic fragility, would be to ignore the hard lessons of Iraq’s recent history. Under the Constitution of Iraq, Iraqis do not directly elect the prime minister. Instead, they vote in parliamentary elections for members of the Council of Representatives. After the election, the largest parliamentary bloc nominates a candidate for prime minister. The president of Iraq then formally tasks this nominee with forming a government. The nominee must assemble a cabinet and win a majority vote of confidence in parliament to become prime minister.

Following the 2025 parliamentary elections, no single bloc secured a decisive majority, producing a fragmented legislature and prolonged negotiations over government formation. The leading coalitions have struggled to agree on a consensus candidate, with divisions cutting across sectarian and factional lines. In this vacuum, figures with established political machinery and loyal parliamentary networks, including Nouri al-Maliki, have re-emerged as potential compromise candidates. His State of Law coalition’s ability to mobilize seats and broker alliances has positioned him once again within the list of viable nominees, despite the deep controversy surrounding his previous tenure.

During his eight years in power, Maliki presided over the steady erosion of Iraq’s democratic institutions. What began as a fragile post-Saddam experiment in pluralism quickly devolved into a centralized,........

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