Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s parliament has postponed until next week a session planned for Thursday to vote on the remaining cabinet posts, as political disagreements persist over nominees for several ministries, an informed source told Shafaq News.

The disputes center on the ministries of Labor and Social Affairs, Youth and Sport, Planning, and Construction, Housing, Municipalities and Public Works, the source said, adding that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is maintaining its nomination of Rebaz Hamlan for the Construction and Housing portfolio and plans to nominate a party member for a fourth deputy prime minister post.

The Coordination Framework (CF), Iraq’s main alliance of Shiite political forces, will meet on Monday to discuss completing the cabinet, while the State Administration Coalition (SAC), which brings together major political forces supporting the government, is scheduled to address the issue on Tuesday, according to the source.

Lawmaker Badr Al-Fahal told Shafaq News that political blocs had submitted nominees for the vacant portfolios, leaving Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi to select candidates and send their names to parliament for a confidence vote. He added that no date had yet been set for the parliamentary session.

Parliament approved Al-Zaidi’s government and 14 ministers on May 14 but postponed votes on nine portfolios. A government source previously told Shafaq News that Al-Zaidi could submit the remaining nominees as a “single package” if political forces failed to agree on the candidates or distribution of ministries.

An informed source told Shafaq News on Saturday that the State of Law Coalition (SLC), led by former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, had formally nominated Yasser Sakhil for interior minister and Haider Baha, dean of the College of Pharmacy at Al-Nahrain University, for higher education minister.