Iraq parliament to vote on new cabinet after weeks of jockeying

Iraq parliament is expected to convene on Thursday to decide on whether to pass Prime Minister designate Mohammed Allawi’s proposed cabinet as the county faces a political and internal crisis.

He needs 166 of the 329 Iraqi MPs to vote in favour of his cabinet in order to secure his position in government.

The country is currently facing a domestic crisis. Over 500 people have been killed since early October in anti-government protests calling for an overhaul of the political system.

Mr Allawi said in a televised speech that if his government wins a confidence vote, its first act would be to investigate the killing of protesters and bring the perpetrators to justice.

He also pledged to hold an early election free from “the influence of money, weapons, and foreign interference” and called on protesters to give his government a chance.

Mr Allawi had a month-long deadline to form the new government, which he is expected to lead until early elections.

Mr Allawi’s chances are 50-50 at the current time, as there is still some opposition to him from Sunni, Kurdish and even Shiite parties, Sajad Jiyad, a Baghdad based political analyst, told The National.

“Their major complaints are that he did not work with them to choose cabinet nominees and that his nominees are not acceptable candidates for Iraqis protesting against the political establishment,” Mr Jiyad said.

If parliament does not pass Mr Allawi’s proposed government then parliamentarians would hold a second vote or President Barham Salih would select his own nominee, the analyst said.

“Both situations would be unprecedented, as indeed the current crisis is too,” Mr Jiyad said.

For Sunni and Kurdish parties, the opposition is not to Mr Allawi personally but to his refusal to accept their party nominees to hold ministries, Kirk Sowell, an Iraq expert at Utica Risk Services, said on Twitter.

“This is viewed as the reason for the failure of previous governments,” Mr Sowell said.

Kurdish and Sunni parties have said they fear the next cabinet will not represent them.

Mr Allawi’s government will pass if he can get the support of the main Kurdish parties.

“He has enough votes from other parties to pass with their support. Without it, he doesn’t,” Mr Sowell said.

Source: The National