Iraqis to present Cabinet
(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-17 22:40
Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki will present his Cabinet to
parliament on Saturday, signaling a possible end to months of uncertainty after
legislative elections, Shiite and Sunni deputies said.
Iraqis are seen through broken car window
following an roadside bomb attack that destroyed a kiosk in Baghdad,
Wednesday, May 17, 2006. Three roadside bombs and a drive-by shooting,
targeted Iraqi forces in Baghdad on Wednesday, killing one policeman and
wounded two soldiers and six policemen.
[AP] |
Al-Maliki "will present his government to the presidency today, and the
presidency will refer it tomorrow to the parliamentary council," Deputy Speaker
Khalid al-Atiya, a Shiite, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
"On Saturday, the parliament will convene to vote on each of al-Maliki's
nominees and the government's program."
Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of the Sunni Arab Accordance Front said parliament
"would be convened on Saturday to vote on al-Maliki's government." The makeup of
the Cabinet was not released.
Al-Dulaimi said he did not know what decision had been made regarding the
Defense and Interior ministries.
"I don't know whether it is complete yet," he said of the Cabinet.
The two main Sunni Arab factions which represent 55 seats in the 275-member
parliament had demanded that they either be given or be allowed to appoint the
defense minister.
In return, the dominant Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, with 130 seats, would
get the Interior Ministry, which runs the police. Such a deal would balance out
the two most powerful security ministries in Iraq.
Sunni Arab deputies confirmed that Cabinet list would be presented at a
session on Saturday, two days before the constitutionally mandated deadline for
al-Maliki to present the Cabinet. Parliament was originally to have convened
Sunday, after having met Wednesday.
Under the constitution, parliament — officially the Council of
Representatives — must then approve each proposed minister by an absolute
majority.
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