BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki remains a potent force in Iraqi politics despite long-standing accusations that he fuelled sectarian strife and failed to stop Islamic State from seizing large areas of the country a decade ago.

As leader of the influential State of Law, a Shi’ite Muslim coalition, he is seen as having enough clout to decide who will become Iraq’s next prime minister after a parliamentary election on November 11.

Maliki, in his mid-70s, was pressured to step down in 2014 by an unusually broad array of critics — the U.S., Iran, Sunni leaders and Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric — after Islamic State’s rapid territorial gains in 2014.

His divisive years as premier were blamed by many Iraqis for fostering sectarian strife between majority Shi’ites and minor

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