Iraq cabinet formation stuck in “ambiguous” phase without nominees
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Political blocs have yet to formally submit ministerial nominees to Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, independent politician Abu Mithaq al-Masari told Shafaq News on Friday, a day after al-Zaidi submitted the new government’s ministerial program to Parliament.
Al-Masari, a figure close to the Shiite Coordination Framework (CF), Iraq’s largest parliamentary bloc, described the current phase as “one of the most ambiguous government formation periods since 2006.”
According to al-Masari, the cabinet under discussion may largely resemble the previous government, with around 23 ministers and no major structural changes, while al-Zaidi continues to favor broad consultations over direct negotiations on ministerial names or portfolio allocations among political and sectarian components.
“Political blocs have not been asked to submit candidates or provide preliminary views on potential appointments,” he explained.
That approach, he noted, was reflected in al-Zaidi’s recent meetings in the Kurdistan Region —where he stressed the need to accelerate the formation of a “competent national government” capable of representing all components of Iraqi society— followed by the return of Kurdish officials to Baghdad without direct nominations being advanced.
On Thursday, al-Zaidi formally submitted the government’s 14-point ministerial program to Parliament Speaker Haibet al-Halbousi ahead of a parliamentary session expected to vote on the cabinet early next week. The program outlines priorities ranging from state sovereignty and national security to economic and financial reform, foreign policy, and issues related to human rights, women, and children.
Negotiations over ministries are continuing under a “points” system tied to parliamentary representation, in which blocs require at least 10 seats to secure service ministries and more than 15 seats for sovereign portfolios. Cabinet posts in Iraq are traditionally distributed through political agreements under the muhasasa system, a post-2003 power-sharing arrangement among the country’s major political and ethnic groups.
