Prime minister-elect struggles to fill vacant portfolios in Iraq
If today’s vote fails, Abdul Mahdi may have to step down or continue with a government that is incompetent
ANALYSIS
Iraqi parliamentarians will vote today on the eight vacant posts in the cabinet of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. If he fails to come up with an acceptable assortment, Abdul Mahdi runs a high risk of early failure. He would have to either step down or continue with a lopsided and incomplete government, one in which he has to personally assume all vacant portfolios himself.
A French-trained economist and former communist, Abdul Mahdi managed to secure approval for 14 out of 22 ministers on October 25, becoming the 49th prime minister of Iraq — until further notice. He filled politically nonsensitive posts, like agriculture, youth affairs and labour, and left vacant “sovereignty portfolios” like interior, defence and education.
Sadrist opposition
The Sairoun bloc of cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, which controls 54 seats in the parliament, vetoed three names put forth by Abdul Mahdi — all either affiliated with or members of the pan-Shiite Popular Mobilisation Units, better known in Arabic as Al Hashd Al Sha’abi.
Ahmad Al Asadi, spokesman for the Fateh Alliance, said Abdul Mahdi’s first priority should be “justice” for members of Al Hashd, claiming they had been severely wronged by the former government.
Al Sadr has vetoed Hasan Al Rubai, commander of Asaib Ahl Al Haq, a member of Al Hashd, earmarked by Abdul Mahdi for the Ministry of Culture and Qusai Suhail, a geologist and ex-Sadrist, designated for the Ministry of Higher Education.
Ala’a Hamed, a prominent Iraqi analyst, told Gulf News: “The real problem is with the Minister of Interior. Al Sadr wants to choose a figure who has not been in power before and who is not a member of parliament.” Abdul Mahdi’s original candidate was Faleh Al Fayyad, the former leader of Al Hashd who was fired from his job as National Security Adviser by Haidar Abadi, earlier this summer.
Abdul Mahdi is presently acting Minister of Interior, insisting on Fayyad as his final choice. If the Al Sadr bloc continues to veto him, it could spell serious trouble for the cabinet, especially if no consensus is reached on the Ministry of Defence.
That post has traditionally been in the hands of Iraqi Sunnis since 2003. Abdul Mahdi’s original choice was Faisal Al Jarba. The Prime Minister has abandoned him, going instead for Hesham Al Daraji, the former deputy director of operations at the Ministry of Defence. Both are considered survivors of the pre-2003 era.
A third candidate has put forth his nomination — Najm Al Jabouri, a US-trained officer and veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, hailed by many for his role in the liberation of Mosul from Daesh.
Defence portfolio
The Defence Ministry dilemma is a Sunni-Sunni one, while the Ministry of Interior has been exclusively in the hands of the Shiites since 2003. Sunni politicians accuse the (Shiite) Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) of monopolising the Interior Ministry and packing its police department with Iran-backed militias to strike at the Sunni community after 2003, punishing them collectively for having produced Saddam Hussain.
Galeb Shabandar, a ranking Sadrist, appealed to Al Sadr openly, saying that Al Fayyad was responsible for the 1999 murder of his father, Mohammad Sadeq Al Sadr, hinting that he had been working undercover for Saddam’s intelligence.
Al Fayyad himself is an ex-political prisoner under Saddam who spent the years 1980-1985 at the infamous Abu Guraib Prison.
He fell out with Al Abadi over the ex-premier’s relationship with Al Hashd, and Abdul Mahdi insists on rewarding him with a cabinet post.