An “incomplete” government… Political maneuvering to select deputies for al-Zaydi as a “compensation”
Political sources revealed on Monday that there is intense political activity between the political forces and the technical and political committee of the coordination framework, with the aim of selecting the deputies of the new Iraqi government in a way that achieves “balance,” while on the other hand it was indicated that the government formation will be presented “incomplete” next week.
A source within the coordination framework told Shafaq News Agency that “political activity behind the scenes of the parties and the committee concerned with evaluating ministerial candidates and distributing positions is escalating to select three to four deputies for the new Prime Minister, some of whom will be (appeasement).”
He added, “One of the candidates, Mohsen al-Mandalawi, is supported by the State of Law Coalition, along with the leader of the Azm Alliance, Muthanna al-Samarrai, representing the Sunni component, in addition to the caretaker Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, representing the Democratic Party, and it is likely that a fourth candidate will be added.”
For his part, a source in the Sunni political coalition confirmed to Shafaq News Agency that most political forces and parties have submitted their candidates for ministries and independent bodies.
He noted that Al-Zaydi’s team and the technical framework committee are studying and evaluating the candidates.
In addition, the sources did not rule out that Al-Zidi would present his cabinet in an incomplete form, and that it would exceed half of the cabinet, due to the continuation of political disputes within the same components and with the other different components, regarding some important sovereign and service ministries.
On Monday, MP Mohammed Al-Shammari, from the parliamentary services bloc, revealed new details regarding the date for submitting the ministerial cabinet of the new government and the mechanism for deciding on it within the House of Representatives.
Al-Shammari told Shafaq News Agency that Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi has enough time constitutionally to finalize his government formation and present it to the House of Representatives within the specified period.
He added that “Al-Zidi informed the leaders of the Coordination Framework of his intention to present the ministerial cabinet on the 9th of this month,” noting that “the House of Representatives will hold a session during the next week to vote on granting confidence to the new government.”
According to the MP, the number of ministries in the next government will be 22 portfolios, distributed as follows: 12 ministries for the Coordination Framework forces, 6 ministries for the Sunni blocs, and 4 ministries for the Kurdish parties.
It is worth noting that a political source revealed to Shafaq News Agency a few days ago that the Ministry of Higher Education will be allocated to the Progress Party (which obtained the position of Speaker of Parliament) led by Mohammed al-Halbousi, which holds 27 seats as a major party, while the Azm Alliance, led by Muthanna al-Samarrai, which holds 15 seats, will receive the Ministry of Defense.
Last week, the ruling Shiite coalition forces in Iraq announced the nomination of Ali al-Zidi for the premiership, after al-Sudani and al-Maliki withdrew from the race for the position, in a move that opened the door to a new settlement within the Shiite bloc after weeks of political deadlock over the shape of the next government and the distribution of its sovereign and service positions.
Shafaq.com