Sadr warns parliament it has ten days to finalize formation of Iraqi cabinet
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Amid ongoing disputes over the filling of remaining ministerial posts in the Iraqi government, popular Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Monday warned the country’s political parties they have ten days to vote in candidates for key contested ministries.
“I direct my words to all the political entities [in parliament] to delegate the prime minister to complete his ministerial cabinet within just ten days,” Sadr said in a written statement signed June 15. He also demanded lawmakers speed up the formation of the remaining parliamentary committees.
In the legislature, two major coalitions continue to dominate: al-Bina, led by the al-Fatih Alliance, Hadi al-Amiri—who is also a chief commander in the Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militias—and the al-Islah coalition, which has Sadr’s ultranationalist Sairoon at its head. The two heavyweights set aside their differences in October 2018 to nominate Adil Abdul-Mahdi as prime minister.
With both alliances in disagreement on candidates to take the two key security ministries — Defense and Interior — Abdul-Mahdi has been unable so far to obtain a consensus on the issue. Another dispute is among leading Kurdish parties that are yet to agree on their nominee for the post of Justice Minister.
The Prime Minister took office in October, when he was also able to get parliament’s vote of confidence for most of his cabinet nominees, to which he said would employ technocrats who would be able to address the shortcomings that have caused much uproar and instability in the country, sixteen years after the fall of the former regime.
One service the government has continued to fail to succesfully provide the public is that of electricity. Every year, as the sweltering summer heat hits the country, especially the south, demands for the commodity spike, with power plants unable to deliver.
Another reality that inspires yearly protests is the inability of successive Iraqi federal governments to put an end to corruption, which Abdul-Mahdi struggles to curtail, including the waste of public fundo, as he faces strong resistance. Mismanagement and graft within Iraq’s government institutions remain a challenge and an obstacle for civilians hoping for stability in the country.
Editing by Nadia Riva