PM Maliki to present his cabinet for Parliament’s approval on Monday

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq’s Prime Minister Designate, Nouri al-Maliki, is scheduled to present his new cabinet’s candidates to the Parliament later today (Monday) for ratification, amid expectations that he would occupy the security cabinet posts, i.e the Defense, Interior and National Security Ministries by himeself, on acting level, till an agreement would be reached among different political blocs on those posts. “Maliki will attend the Parliament’s session today to present his new cabinet, and he is expected to explain that some ministries need what he termed as ‘national consensus,’ such as the Security Ministries, assignment of which would be postponed for another time, pending the achievement of an understanding by different political blocs on those ministries,” Legislature of Maliki’s State of Law Coallition, Ali al-Allaq, told IraqiNews.com news agency. Allaq pointed out that the Iraqi Constitution “allows the Prime Minister to hold the remaining cabinet posts, including the Defense and Interior Ministries, on an “acting minister’s position.” Iraq’s President, Jalal Talabani, had officially assigned Nouri al-Maliki on 25/11/2010 to form the new Iraqi government. Different Iraqi political blocs have been preoccupied to nominate their candidates for leading government posts, including the vice-presidents and deputy prime-ministers, along with the new cabinet posts, amid a serious competition to gain some leading posts, scheduled to be distributed according to the number of their parliament seats and the so-called “points system.” SKH 1