Shafaq News- Baghdad
Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi will present 14 cabinet nomineesto the Iraqi Council of Representatives next week for a confidence vote, withthe remainder of his cabinet to follow after the Hajj season concludes,according to a Badr bloc MP.
Shaker Mahmoud al-Tamimi, speaking to Shafaq News on Wednesday,attributed the phased submission to a practical constraint: a significantnumber of lawmakers are expected to travel for the Hajj pilgrimage, making afull cabinet vote before the season ends impractical.
The 14 ministers to be presented first will be drawn from across thepolitical spectrum. "They will not be exclusively from the CoordinationFramework," al-Tamimi said, "but also from Sunni and Kurdishblocs."
On Monday, Mohammed al-Shammari, a member of the Parliamentary Khadamatbloc, itself a Coordination Framework constituent, told Shafaq News thatal-Zaidi had informed Framework leaders of his intention to submit the fullcabinet on May 9, with parliament set to convene for a confidence vote duringthe coming week.
Framework leaders are scheduled to meet with al-Zaidi today. The sessionis expected to resolve the allocation of sovereign and service ministries andagree on a distribution mechanism —two points that have remained unresolved innegotiations.
The incoming government is set to comprise 22 ministerial portfolios: 12allocated to Coordination Framework factions, six to Sunni blocs, and four toKurdish parties, according to Shafaq News sources.
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