Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi on Thursday submitted the new government’s ministerial program to Parliament Speaker Haibet al-Halbousi for review by members of the Council of Representatives.

A government statement said both sides stressed the importance of cooperation and coordination to complete the constitutional process of granting confidence to the government and its ministerial program.

The lawmakers will review the ministerial program ahead of a parliamentary vote on al-Zaidi’s government expected early next week.

Negotiations over ministries are continuing under a “points” system tied to parliamentary representation, in which blocs require at least 10 seats to secure service ministries and more than 15 seats for sovereign portfolios. Cabinet posts in Iraq are traditionally distributed through political agreements under the muhasasa system, a post-2003 power-sharing arrangement among the country’s major political and ethnic groups.

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