Islamic Dawa Party
Jaafari was the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party when he was elected Prime Minister. Following the December 2005 Iraqi legislative election, his reelection as Prime Minister was blocked by Kurdish and Sunni Arab coalition partners. Nouri al-Maliki, also from the Islamic Dawa Party, was elected as a compromise candidate in his place, and Maliki replaced Jaafari as party secretary general in May 2007.