Iraq cabinet completion likely after Al-Zaidi’s Europe trip

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq is unlikely to complete Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s cabinet until after his planned mid-September visit to France and Germany, with political disputes still delaying nine ministerial appointments, Badr parliamentary bloc lawmaker Qusay Al-Shabki told Shafaq News on Thursday.

Al-Shabki said the Coordination Framework and other political blocs remain in talks with Al-Zaidi over the vacant portfolios, with the main disagreements centering on the Defense, Interior, and Migration and Displacement ministries.

He said political forces will likely wait until Al-Zaidi returns from Europe before settling the remaining nominees and sending their names to parliament.

Parliament approved Al-Zaidi’s government program on May 14 and confirmed 14 of 23 ministers. The nine vacant portfolios are Defense, Interior, Planning, Culture, Reconstruction and Housing, Higher Education, Labor, Migration and Displacement, and Youth and Sports.

Political blocs submitted nominees for the remaining posts by late August. The Coordination Framework has since backed Al-Zaidi to work directly with political forces to resolve the outstanding disputes.