Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s State of Law Coalition (SLC), led by former prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki, on Thursday accused rival political factions of obstructing its nominees for the higher education and interior ministries after parliament delayed voting on the two posts in Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s cabinet.

Coalition lawmaker Ibtisam Al-Hilali told Shafaq News that candidates proposed by the bloc faced “injustice, betrayal, and political treachery” from MPs affiliated with the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, headed by former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, and the Taqaddum Party, led by former Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi.

SLC would submit alternative candidates for the two ministries to Prime Minister Al-Zaidi, Al-Hilali added.

The Iraqi parliament had earlier approved Al-Zaidi’s government and ministerial program, granting confidence to 14 ministers while postponing decisions on six portfolios, including higher education and interior, amid objections to the proposed nominees.

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