State of Law Coalition nominates Yasser Sakhil for Interior and proposes Haider Baha for Higher Education
A well-informed source: the coalition sent the names Yasser Sakhil and Haider Baha to the prime minister, while political consultations continue over the remaining portfolios and MPs say no date has been set for the remaining session.
A well-informed source said on Saturday that the State of Law Coalition, led by Nouri al-Maliki, has officially nominated Yasser Sakhil for the Interior Ministry portfolio.
The source added that the coalition also nominated Haider Baha, who currently serves as dean of the College of Pharmacy at Al-Nahrain University, for the Higher Education Ministry portfolio, and sent both names to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaydi.
Badr bloc MP Qusay Abbas confirmed that political blocs of various orientations and parties are holding ongoing meetings and discussions to finalize the list of nominees and complete the vote on the ministerial cabinet in the parliamentary chamber.
Abbas said there is no set date for the parliamentary session to complete the vote on the ministerial cabinet, noting that choosing nominees for the portfolios is left to the prime minister, who is responsible for selecting and sending the nominees' names to parliament.
The Iraqi Parliament voted on May 14 to grant confidence to Ali al-Zaydi's government and its ministerial program with 14 ministers, while the vote on the remaining nine ministries was postponed until further notice due to ongoing political disputes over portfolio distribution, amid reports of international warnings against involving armed factions in the new ministerial lineup.
Since then, the Coordination Framework has authorized Prime Minister Ali al-Zaydi to conduct contacts with the heads of blocs and political entities participating in the government, whose nominees for the vacant ministries had not been finalized as of the time of reporting.
