Suyana bloc demands Christian representation in Iraq's cabinet

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq's Christian Suyana bloc demanded representation in the new cabinet through its own nominee, rejecting a rival candidate allegedly affiliated with the Babylon bloc, the bloc’s leader Kaldo Ramzi Oghanna told Shafaq News on Thursday.

Oghanna accused political rivals of trying to pass off their candidate as an independent.

Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi had promised his bloc representation in the government, Oghanna said. He added that the bloc holds five of the nine parliamentary seats reserved for minority communities, including three of the five Christian seats.

“We have submitted our candidates' names to Al-Zaidi, but the problem is that he is putting forward nominees as independents when they are not.”

Iraq's parliament on October 15 approved three deputy prime ministers and 11 cabinet nominees, including a minister of state, while leaving the Migration and Displacement Ministry portfolio vacant.