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Masrour Barzani sworn in as new prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan

Masrour Barzani sworn in as new prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan
Masrour Barzani sworn in as new prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan

2019-07-10 00:00:00 - Source: Iraq News

Masrour Barzani sworn in as new prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, Erbil, July 10, 2019. Photo: Ekurd/screengrab/K24 TV

HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— The Parliament of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region convened on Wednesday. Masrour Barzani received 88 votes to become the new prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Incumbent Deputy PM Qubad Talabani received 73 votes to keep his post in the new KRG.

Barzani is presenting his cabinet to the parliament for approval.

New cabinet ministers of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) sworn in at the parliament on Wednesday after nine months of negotiations on power sharing among ruling parties.

Masrour Barzani, 50, submitted his cabinet nominations on Monday. Parliament and the KRG Integrity Commission have reviewed the nominations.

The new cabinet will have three women ministers. The previous KRG had one.

Begard Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) will be Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources. The other two are Gorran’s Kwestan Mohammed and the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) Vala Fared, for the roles of Minister of Labor and Social Affairs and Region Minister, respectively.

Fared is the parliament’s incumbent speaker, but will be replaced by PUK’s Rewaz Fayaq in line with a bilateral agreement on cabinet positions between the two parties.

The Yazidi, Turkmen and Christian minorities will also be represented in the new cabinet. The Yazidis will have the posts of adviser to the parliament speaker, adviser to Prime Minister-Designate Masrour Barzani, undersecretary for an unspecified ministry, and a director-general in the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, Shingal Mayor Mahma Khalil told Rudaw on Tuesday.

The Region’s Turkmen and Christian minorities have also been granted a ministry each. Turkmen will run one of the Region Ministries and the Christians will have the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

Today, Barzani will present his agenda for the next four years as prime minister. The blueprint has reportedly been prepared jointly with key cabinet partners, the PUK and Gorran.

The new cabinet reportedly aims to diversify Kurdistan Region’s revenues, minimize bureaucratic procedures in the government, conduct economic and administrative reforms, and further strengthen security and stability.

Protection of the rights of minority groups, Peshmerga reforms and development of diplomatic relations with the outside world will also feature importantly in the agenda of the new cabinet.

In September 2018, Kurdistan Region held its parliamentary election, with parties competing for 111 seats in total. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) won the election by securing 45 seats and was followed by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) with 21 seats and Gorran (Change) Movement with 12.

Copyright © 2019, respective author or news agency, Ekurd.net | rudaw.net

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