Iraq delays cabinet completion until after Eid Al-Adha

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s cabinet is expected to be completed after the Eid Al-Adha holiday on May 27, either through an emergency parliamentary session or following the end of the legislature’s recess, an Iraqi lawmaker told Shafaq News on Saturday.

According to Amer Al-Fayez, the head of the Tasmeem Alliance, which is part of the Shiite Coordination Framework (CF), political blocs and parties are currently holding internal meetings to discuss candidates for the remaining cabinet positions based on their political entitlements, noting that meetings of the CF have been suspended until after the Eid holiday.

Meanwhile, political forces whose nominees failed to secure parliamentary approval are reviewing dozens of alternative candidates, with blocs expected to submit three names for each vacant ministry to Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi, who will select the preferred nominee before presenting the candidates to parliament for a vote, a source told our agency.

Earlier, a separate source informed Shafaq News that the CF had agreed to grant the prime minister authority to choose candidates for the Interior and Defense ministries from lists containing 10 security and military figures, adding that names currently circulating in the media are inaccurate.

On May 14, the Iraqi parliament approved Al-Zaidi’s government and ministerial program, granting confidence to 14 ministers out of 23, while nine ministries remained vacant due to disputes over candidates and political quotas, including the Interior, Defense, Higher Education, and Planning ministries.

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