Iraqi Parliament grants confidence to new cabinet
Parliament Speaker Muhammad Al-Halbousi, Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and elected ministers in the Iraqi Parliament. Photo: Iraqi News Agency
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Parliament granted confidence to the new Iraqi government on Thursday during a parliamentary session in which MPs voted on the new cabinet chaired by Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.
Al-Sudani was chosen on October 13 to form a new government following a year of division and disagreement between Iraqi political parties.
Al-Sudani and the new government need an absolute majority from the 329-seat parliament to be approved.
The Parliament’s media office mentioned in a statement that the parliamentary session was held under the chairmanship of Parliament Speaker Muhammad Al-Halbousi and with the presence of 253 MPs.
The new government and its ministerial program must gain votes of an absolute majority of the number of deputies in the Parliament, that is, one-half plus one, as stipulated in the Iraqi constitution.
According to Article 76 of the Iraqi constitution, the Prime Minister-designate shall present the names of his members of the Council of Ministers and the ministerial program to the Parliament.
The parliamentary session was expected to be held Thursday afternoon to vote on granting confidence to the new Iraqi government but was postponed until evening hours.
Rapporteur of the Iraqi Parliament, Gharib Askar, revealed that the reason for the postponement was to continue consultation with Al-Sudani on some of the nominations.
Although the Iraqi parliament granted confidence to all selected new ministers, two posts remain vacant, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Construction and Housing.
“Our cabinet was granted the confidence of the parliament,” Al-Sudani said via Twitter following the parliamentary session.
Following the confidence vote, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, congratulated Al-Sudani after he, his ministerial program and his cabinet gained the confidence of the parliament.
“We are looking forward to working with the new Iraqi government to enhance our common goals during this important stage,” Romanowski said via Twitter.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) issued a statement following the confidence vote congratulating Al-Sudani for winning the parliament’s confidence and confirming its readiness to provide support, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
“The new government faces many serious challenges that require decisive action,” the UNAMI statement mentioned.