Shafaq News-Baghdad
PrimeMinister-designate Ali al-Zaidi has informed leaders of the CoordinationFramework of his intention to present his ministerial cabinet on May 9, withparliament scheduled to hold a confidence vote the following week, according toa member of the parliamentary Services Bloc (Khadamat).
"Al-Zaidihas the constitutional time required to finalize his government lineup andsubmit it to the Council of Representatives within the designated period,"MP Mohammed al-Shammari told Shafaq News on Monday. Intensive political effortsare underway, he added, to resolve all remaining ministerial appointmentsbefore the confidence session.
Cabinetportfolio allocation remains incomplete, with negotiations still active acrosspolitical blocs. The incoming government, according to the source, is set to comprise 22 ministries,distributed as follows: 12 for the Shiite Coordination Framework factions, sixfor Sunni blocs, and four for Kurdish parties.
On the Sunniside, the Ministry of Higher Education is set to go to the Taqaddum Party —ledby Mohammed al-Halbousi, who holds 27 parliamentary seats— while the DefenseMinistry is slated for the al-Azm Alliance, led by Muthanna al-Samarrai, whichholds 15 seats, according to a political source who spoke to Shafaq Newsearlier this week.
Al-Zaidi isexpected to meet with Sunni leaders, including al-Halbousi, whose party hasraised the ceiling of its cabinet demands, a development, the source revealed, that has generatedfriction in political backchannels as Sunni portfolio negotiations enter directbargaining, the sources said.
Kurdishdemands in the talks center on portfolio weight, not just portfolio count. TheKurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which secured 26 seats, is pushing to retainthe foreign affairs and construction and housing ministries, seekingrepresentation commensurate with its electoral standing and a broader roleacross executive institutions.
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