Iraqi parliament approves two more cabinet nominees

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) – Two cabinet nominees proposed by Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi won votes of confidence from Iraq’s parliament Monday.

Two cabinet portfolios still remain in limbo, however, amid ongoing differences between the country’s leading political forces.

In a Monday assembly session, Shaima Khalil al-Hayali, nominated for education minister, and Nawfal Moussa, nominated for migration minister, both secured votes of confidence from a majority of MPs.

Faisal al-Jarba, however, Abdul-Mahdi’s nominee for defense minister, failed to clinch a confidence vote, while a scheduled vote on Faleh al-Fayad -- the PM’s choice for interior minister -- was postponed to a later date.

No candidate, meanwhile, has yet been proposed for the post of justice minister.

MPs representing Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon Bloc, which dominated Iraq’s May 12 parliamentary polls, object to both al-Jarba and al-Fayed, insisting that the defense and interior portfolios should go to “politically independent” personalities.

The Shia Al-Fatah coalition, meanwhile, which is led by Hadi al-Amiri and which is known to be close to Iran, actively supports both al-Jarba and al-Fayed.

Iraqi politics are deeply affected by the longstanding regional standoff between the U.S. and Iran, both of which maintain considerable influence in the country.