Parliamentary vote on vacant Iraqi portfolios derailed again

▶ Minister of defence among those yet to be confirmed by prime minister

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was unable to confirm the final members of his Cabinet when a parliamentary session descended into a shouting match this week.

Members on Tuesday were scheduled to vote on the remaining eight ministerial vacancies, which have been a recurring stumbling block for the new prime minister.

The session was cut short when MPs banged on tables and shouted, eventually forcing and end to the meeting as Mr Abdul Mahdi and his proposed ministers left.

The MPs were mostly from a group led by populist cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and allies on the list of former premier Haider Al Abadi, who opposed the selections for the hotly contested interior and defence ministries.

The decades-old rift between Iraq’s political parties has resurfaced over the past six months, since parliamentary elections in May and the rise to power of Mr Abdul Mahdi in October.

The new prime minister, appointed to form a technocratic Cabinet in a political structure where old names and nepotism is the norm, has since been trying to confirm the ministers of defence, interior, justice and immigration, among others.

But political jockeying has intensified in recent weeks as competing regional patrons vie for influence in a dispute that has delayed the formation of a Cabinet several times.

On Tuesday, Shiite cleric Mr Al Sadr called for the swift formation of a government, saying that he would not approve any candidate who was affiliated to the country’s political elite.

“I urge the prime minister to quickly fill the Cabinet posts that are still vacant, except for the defence and interior position,” he said on Twitter.

Parliament’s deputy speaker, Hassan Al Kaabi, said the vote could be disrupted.

Members on Tuesday were scheduled to vote on eight ministerial vacancies

He said Mr Abdul Mahdi submitted overnight the names of eight candidates previously rejected in an October session when Parliament approved other Cabinet members.

The meeting was eventually postponed until later in the week after initially being paused while officials tried to restore order and ensure that there was sufficient turnout for the vote.

Last month, parliamentarians confirmed 14 of the 22 posts that Mr Abdul Mahdi initially presented.

In a letter to legislators before the delayed session, he said he could submit other names within two days if his proposals were rejected.