BAGHDAD, Iraq – A contentious parliamentary vote on the remaining eight members of Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi’s Council of Ministers has been postponed to Thursday after parties boycotted the session and a brawl broke out in the chamber.
"There was no political consensus among the Shiites, between the Binaa coalition and Reform coalition on Mr. [Falih] al-Fayadh," said Viyan Sabri, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) faction, referring to the candidate for the Ministry of the Interior.
Lawmakers from several parties boycotted the session, meaning the legislature did not met quorum to vote on candidates to fill the final eight cabinet posts. The vote has been postponed to Thursday.
"We hope we will finalize the voting on the appointed ministers next Thursday and we hope there is going to be consensus on the ministers," said Sabri.
Consensus will be difficult to achieve. Lawmakers shouted “illegitimate” and banged on tables, Reuters reported.
Abdul-Mahdi and his candidates left the legislature. He later told reporters that a “state of chaos” is preventing his efforts to form a government. He is in a weak position, faced with a parliamentary split by Sayirun of Muqtada al-Sadr and the Fatih alliance of Hadi al-Amiri.
Despite the roadblocks, he said he and his cabinet are determined to stick to the timetable to implement its planned programme and vowed they will deliver on promises made to the Iraqi people.
The security portfolios are the most contentious with groups objecting to the nomination of Falih al-Fayadh to the Ministry of Interior and Faysal Jarba to the Ministry of Defence.
The Sayirun alliance has threatened to stage protests if Fayadh is given the post. Fayadh is former national security advisor and head of the Hashd al-Shaabi. He is backed by Amiri.
“Any government that is not supported by the Marja [Shiite religious authority], Sadr, and people, cannot continue more than two months,” said Hakim Zamli, a member of the Sayirun coalition led by influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) also boycotted the session in protest of not receiving any cabinet position. The party had expected to receive the Ministry of Justice.
“Our stance is we support the principle of agreement. [Prime Minister] Adil Abdul-Mahdi has now suggested Dara Nuradin, a judge, for the post of minister of justice. And we have no problem holding a vote on him. But PUK colleagues have their own observations to communicate,” explained Sherwan Dubardani, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) MP.
Dara Nuradin is a Kurdish politician who was member of Iraq’s governing council in 2003 and was also minister of justice in Nouri al-Maliki’s government, from 2008 through to 2010. He is unaffiliated with any party.
The KDP’s position is that the justice ministry should be part of the Kurdish share, but not specific to any party, unlike the presidency, said Dubardani.
Parliament was scheduled to vote on the final eight ministries to fill the remaining cabinet seats. Abdul-Mahdi and 14 of his ministers were sworn in on October 24, but confirmation of the remaining posts had been delayed for weeks because of disputes.
Abdul-Mahdi’s nominees are:
Dara Nuradin – Ministry of Justice
Falih al-Fayadh – Ministry of Interior
Faysal Jarba – Ministry of Defense
Qusay Abdulwahab Suheil – Ministry of Higher Education
Saba Khayradin Tani – Ministry of Education
Abdulamir Hamdani – Ministry of Culture
Nouri Natiq Dlemi – Ministry of Planning
Hanna Immanuel Gorgis – Ministry of Displacement and Migration
Updated at 11:05 pm
"There was no political consensus among the Shiites, between the Binaa coalition and Reform coalition on Mr. [Falih] al-Fayadh," said Viyan Sabri, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) faction, referring to the candidate for the Ministry of the Interior.
Lawmakers from several parties boycotted the session, meaning the legislature did not met quorum to vote on candidates to fill the final eight cabinet posts. The vote has been postponed to Thursday.
"We hope we will finalize the voting on the appointed ministers next Thursday and we hope there is going to be consensus on the ministers," said Sabri.
Consensus will be difficult to achieve. Lawmakers shouted “illegitimate” and banged on tables, Reuters reported.
Abdul-Mahdi and his candidates left the legislature. He later told reporters that a “state of chaos” is preventing his efforts to form a government. He is in a weak position, faced with a parliamentary split by Sayirun of Muqtada al-Sadr and the Fatih alliance of Hadi al-Amiri.
Despite the roadblocks, he said he and his cabinet are determined to stick to the timetable to implement its planned programme and vowed they will deliver on promises made to the Iraqi people.
The security portfolios are the most contentious with groups objecting to the nomination of Falih al-Fayadh to the Ministry of Interior and Faysal Jarba to the Ministry of Defence.
The Sayirun alliance has threatened to stage protests if Fayadh is given the post. Fayadh is former national security advisor and head of the Hashd al-Shaabi. He is backed by Amiri.
“Any government that is not supported by the Marja [Shiite religious authority], Sadr, and people, cannot continue more than two months,” said Hakim Zamli, a member of the Sayirun coalition led by influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) also boycotted the session in protest of not receiving any cabinet position. The party had expected to receive the Ministry of Justice.
“Our stance is we support the principle of agreement. [Prime Minister] Adil Abdul-Mahdi has now suggested Dara Nuradin, a judge, for the post of minister of justice. And we have no problem holding a vote on him. But PUK colleagues have their own observations to communicate,” explained Sherwan Dubardani, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) MP.
Dara Nuradin is a Kurdish politician who was member of Iraq’s governing council in 2003 and was also minister of justice in Nouri al-Maliki’s government, from 2008 through to 2010. He is unaffiliated with any party.
The KDP’s position is that the justice ministry should be part of the Kurdish share, but not specific to any party, unlike the presidency, said Dubardani.
Parliament was scheduled to vote on the final eight ministries to fill the remaining cabinet seats. Abdul-Mahdi and 14 of his ministers were sworn in on October 24, but confirmation of the remaining posts had been delayed for weeks because of disputes.
Abdul-Mahdi’s nominees are:
Dara Nuradin – Ministry of Justice
Falih al-Fayadh – Ministry of Interior
Faysal Jarba – Ministry of Defense
Qusay Abdulwahab Suheil – Ministry of Higher Education
Saba Khayradin Tani – Ministry of Education
Abdulamir Hamdani – Ministry of Culture
Nouri Natiq Dlemi – Ministry of Planning
Hanna Immanuel Gorgis – Ministry of Displacement and Migration
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