Shafaq News-Baghdad
TheReconstruction and Development Coalition (RDC), led by caretaker Prime MinisterMohammed Shia al-Sudani, is seeking at least five ministerial portfolios inIraq’s incoming government, including a sovereign ministry, coalition MP AbbasAhyal told Shafaq News on Thursday.
Ahyal said thecoalition’s 46 seats, the largest share secured by a single bloc in the recentelections, give it strong leverage in the talks, with cabinet posts expected tobe distributed proportionally among political factions.
Prime Minister-designateAli al-Zaidi has 30 days from his April 27 appointment to present his cabinetand government program to parliament for a confidence vote. Ahyal expressedconfidence that the deadline would be met, pointing to ongoing intensivenegotiations among the blocs.
Parallel talksare shaping the broader cabinet lineup. Informed sources told Shafaq News thatal-Sudani’s coalition is likely to secure five ministries, including Finance,along with a deputy prime minister post.
The SadiqoonMovement, which holds 27 parliamentary seats, is expected to take the Labor andIndustry ministries, in addition to a second deputy prime minister position, markinga notable expansion of its executive role.
Cabinetformation in Iraq follows the muhasasa system, a post-2003 sectarian and ethnicpower-sharing arrangement that governs the allocation of senior state positionsamong the country’s main political groups.
