Baghdad– Iraq’s parliament voted on Thursday to approve the government program and part of the cabinet lineup. Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi But there was a deadlock over some ministerial appointments.
The 270 MPs present voted to confirm 14 ministers in the 23-member Cabinet. Most of the government was replaced by new people, but Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein retained his post.
Candidates nominated for three posts – interior minister, higher education minister and planning minister – failed to win parliamentary approval. Voting on other posts, including those of defence, labour, housing and reconstruction and education ministers, was postponed to a later stage, with no date set.
Iraqi politics There is a possibility of deadlock and often prolonged political vacuum.
Under the power-sharing arrangement between the political factions, the major parliamentary faction – the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shia parties allied with Iran – chooses 12 ministers, while Sunni parties choose six, Kurdish parties four and religious minorities choose one minister.
The next government will have to deal with the political and economic fallout of the US-Israeli war against Iran, which spilled over into Iraq. closing the strait of hormuz Oil exports, on which Iraq’s economy depends, have been disrupted.
The government program approved by MPs includes priorities related to tackling corruption, improving public administration and strengthening the rule of law, as well as improving public services, resolving the electricity crisis and supporting economic stability.
The program also includes provisions relating to state weapons embargoes, which may be difficult to implement in practice.
Several Iran-backed militias are active in Iraq, and during the recent US–Israeli war with Iran they carried out frequent attacks on US targets and diplomatic facilities. Washington is pressuring Baghdad to control armed groups. However, Tehran is likely to take steps against their disarmament.
Two officials in the coordination framework, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, said Ismail Kani, the Quds Force commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has instructed several Shia political and armed faction leaders not to move forward with any steps related to disarmament at this stage, delaying the issue until the trajectory of US-Iran talks becomes clearer.
Qani also called for postponing voting on ministries associated with political groups that have affiliated armed groups, officials said.
Al-Zaidi, a businessman with no political background, emerged as the consensus candidate for prime minister after weeks of internal debate among member parties of the Coordination Framework, which aimed to select a compromise candidate to lead the next government. He received the blessings of officials of both America and Iran. Iraq has close relations with both rival countries and has long performed a delicate balancing act between them.
“We are encouraged by your new leadership and look forward to collaborating on a bold new agenda consistent with our shared interests,” US Ambassador to Iraq Tom Barrack wrote in a post on Twitter congratulating al-Zaidi on the government formation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi congratulated al-Zaidi in a post and also congratulated Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, who has been reappointed to the post.
“Expanding friendly and fraternal relations between Tehran and Baghdad remains, at all times, our highest foreign policy priority,” he wrote.
