Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s State of Law Coalition, led by former premier Nouri al-Maliki, is preparing to submit three candidates for vacant cabinet posts, including senior judge Mohammed Sami and Lt. Gen. Qasim Atta, as political negotiations intensify over completing Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi’s government, a Coordination Framework source told Shafaq News on Saturday.

Sami, who heads the Internal Security Forces Court of Cassation, is among the figures the coalition considers qualified for the remaining posts, while Atta’s name has again returned to negotiations despite limited prospects of securing approval, according to the source.

The discussions among senior Shiite political leaders are focusing particularly on the vacant Interior and Defense ministries, two of nine portfolios left unresolved since parliament approved most of al-Zaidi’s cabinet in May.

Al-Zaidi has asked the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework and the State Administration Coalition to put forward qualified candidates capable of securing political acceptance “without triggering further disputes,” the source said, adding that the cabinet “could be completed next month.”

State of Law has been trying to secure the Interior Ministry for months. In July, it reviewed six candidates for the portfolio, including Atta, whose nomination faced domestic and regional objections.