Shafaq News- Baghdad

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has backed the Christian Suyana parliamentary bloc's objection to a nominee for Iraq's Ministry of Migration and Displacement, leading to a delay in the vote on the KDP's candidate for deputy prime minister, party member Majid Shingali told Shafaq News on Sunday.

Shingali said the KDP and Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi had previously agreed to appoint an independent candidate to head the Migration Ministry, unaffiliated with either the Babylon Movement or the Suyana Christian bloc. The two groups were instead expected to share other government posts allocated to Christians.

“The candidates put forward for the ministry were all affiliated with the Babylon Movement,” Shingali said. He identified the secretary-general of the Federal Supreme Court as the main nominee and the wife of the head of the Endowment Office of Christian, Yazidi and Sabean Religions as the alternative.

According to Shingali, Suyana’s objection prompted other parties to seek a delay in the vote on the KDP’s candidate to maintain a balance in the distribution of government posts.

At al-Zaidi’s request, Suyana also secured five signatures from representatives of quota groups and minority communities in support of its nominee, including the Yazidi representative. However, opposition from the Babylon Movement, backed by some parties within the Shiite Coordination Framework, blocked the candidate’s approval, he added.

Defending the KDP’s position, Shingali argued that Christian representation in government should reflect the community’s electoral results. Suyana won three seats, the most of any Christian bloc, he noted, with further talks expected in the coming days to help the blocs agree on a candidate for the Migration Ministry.

Iraq’s parliament approved three deputy prime ministers and 11 cabinet nominees, including a minister of state, on October 15, but left the Migration and Displacement Ministry portfolio vacant.

On Thursday, Suyana bloc leader Kaldo Ramzi Oghanna demanded a cabinet seat for his bloc’s own nominee, accusing the rival Babylon bloc of trying to pass off its candidate as independent.