Abu Mazen to leave al-Siyada and join al-Maliki if he does not secure a spot in the cabinet; source 

Shafaq News/ MP Ahmed "Abu Mazen" al-Jubouri said his bloc might bow out from al-Siyada (Sovereignty) coalition if it does not secure a ministerial portfolio, a source close to the Sunni lawmaker revealed on Monday.

The source told Shafaq News Agency that al-Jubouri is not satisfied by the leaders of the Sunni coalition's exclusion of his bloc from the power-sharing arrangement. 

"They promised to award him a spot in the cabinet or the post of Saladin governor. However, it did not. Go this way," the source said. 

"The leaders of the Coalition are trying to resolve the issue and meet the demands of Abu Mazen, but he insists on boycotting al-Siyada meetings."

"Abu Mazen is currently in Jordan. His return is contingent upon giving him what he wants," the source said, "if they do not, he will withdraw from al-Siyada and join the Coordination Framework."

A source revealed that the meeting of al-Siyada leaders, Khamis al-Khanjar and Mohammad al-Halboosi, with the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Istanbul yesterday, Sunday, aimed to resolve the inter-Sunni disagreement on the figure that will take over the position of the defense minister. 

While the Parliament Speaker, Mohammad al-Halboosi, is lobbying for a military veteran close to him, the head of the alliance, Khamis al-Khanjar, endorses Naser al-Ghannam. The leader of al-Jamaheer (Masses) bloc, which is a part of the unified Sunni bloc, Abu Mazen, calls for renewing the mandate of the incumbent Jumah Inad.