Wrangling over sovereign ministries delays the formation of al-Sudani's cabinet: Shiite leading figure

Shafaq News/ Ongoing discord over the sovereign portfolios delays the formation of Mohammad Shiyaa al-Sudani's incoming cabinet, a leading figure in the Shiite Coordination Framework said on Saturday.

"All the parties and movements are involved in this ongoing dispute," al-Hekmah movement's Raheem al-Abboudi told Shafaq News Agency, "it revolves around the sovereign ministries: interior, defense, foreign affairs, finance, and oil."

"The negotiations are underway in order to reach common ground and hold a confidence vote on al-Sudani's cabinet next week," he added.

The parliament is slated to convene in mid-next-week to vote on awarding confidence to al-Sudani's cabinet. Incumbent Mustafa al-Kadhimi's cabinet has been operating as a caretaker since October 10, 2021; the longest run of a caretaker government in Iraq's history.