High-ranking officials in the State of Law Coalition are trying to prevent their leader, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, from running for a third term in the 2014 legislative elections.

An official from the coalition told Al-Monitor that a meeting was held with Maliki in mid-August, in the presence of the most-prominent officials from among the elites of the Islamic Dawa Party and the State of Law Coalition. The meeting included serious discussions about the political future in light of the developments of the current political crisis.

The official, who attended the meeting, said that Maliki was clear about his intentions to run for a third term in the upcoming legislative elections, which raised the ire of a number of members of the coalition. He also indicated that officials from the Islamic Dawa Party got into verbal altercations following conflicting positions regarding Maliki's decision.

The official, who preferred to remain anonymous given the sensitivity of the subject, indicated that high-ranking officials — including ministers and senior advisers in the government — told Maliki that his insistence on running for a third term embarrassed the State of Law Coalition, and may lead it to lose its popularity in the upcoming elections.