Iraq's Dawa Party re-elects al-Maliki as chief

Shafaq News/ Iraq’s Islamic Dawa Party re-elected former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as its secretary-general on Saturday during the party’s 19th general conference, the party said in a statement.

Al-Maliki, who led Iraq from 2006 to 2014, heads the State of Law Coalition and is a senior figure within the Coordination Framework (CF), a Shiite political alliance that opposes Muqtada al-Sadr's Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM).

Founded in 1957, the Dawa Party was a leading Shiite opposition group under Saddam Hussein and played a central role in Iraq’s post-2003 political landscape. It held the premiership across three terms from 2005 to 2014, under Ibrahim al-Jaafari and al-Maliki.

According to observers, al-Maliki’s reappointment positions him to retain a prominent role ahead of upcoming provincial and national elections. The State of Law Coalition, which includes Dawa members, holds seats in parliament and has participated in recent government formation talks.

Analysts from the Carnegie Middle East Center and the Atlantic Council have noted that the party’s influence has declined in recent years due to internal divisions and changes in Iraq’s political environment. However, it remains active through coalition participation in the legislature.