Kurds strike deal with Baghdad opposition in a bid to block cabinet formation

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) delegation in Baghdad has reached a deal with opposition parties to try and prevent the Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Tafwiq Allawi from forming a cabinet, Rudaw English has been told. 

The Iraqi parliament initially conducted an emergency session on Thursday to vote on Allawi’s cabinet, but did not reach quorum and the vote was postponed to Saturday, and then rescheduled to Sunday.

It has now been postponed until further notice. 

Just 120 MPs turned up to last week's session in Baghdad – shy of the 165 needed to meet quorum. Kurdish and Sunni parties seem to have deliberately avoided the session, alongside some Shiites, because they fear that Allawi intends to exclude their choice of candidates from power.

Baghdad’s KRG representative Faris Issa  told Rudaw English on Sunday that KRG representatives have reached an agreement with  the opposition front to prevent Allawi from passing his cabinet if quorum is reached.

“The delegation of Kurdistan regional government in Baghdad reached a  deal with the other Iraqi political parties to prevent Allawi’s  cabinet from gaining the majority votes in the parliament,” Issa said, saying that a “deal was reached” with the State of Law Coalition, Sadiqoon and other Sunni and Shiite political parties.

Other Kurdish political parties in Iraqi parliament, however, are in favor of  Allawi’s cabinet.

Caretaker PM Adil Abdul-Mahdi resigned in the face of widespread protests in Iraq’s  southern and central provinces. The protests have raged since October  1, 2019, with Iraqis demanding the removal of the post-2003 political  elite, an overhaul  of the political system, and early elections.

Allawi- appointed as Abdul-Mahdi's successor- was given a free hand by Shiite parties to choose an  independent cabinet on the condition that Kurds and Sunnis grant him  the same freedom.

Under the Iraqi constitution, Allawi has until March 2 to form a cabinet

Kurds and Sunnis have argued that since Shiite parties nominated  Allawi for the position of PM, they should also have  the right to nominate their own figures to become ministers.

The  PM-designate’s insistence upon choosing his cabinet ministers himself has caused tensions with Kurdish representatives, who have argued that the Kurdish Region itself needs to send ministers to Baghdad due to its special status.

However, Kurdish resistance may not be enough to stop the cabinet formation. 

Influential Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is hoping to force parliament to accept the new government cabinet without Kurdish or Sunni approval, a Kurdish MP in Baghdad has said.

Muthana Amin, Kurdish MP from Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) told Rudaw English on Sunday that he is not optimistic regarding the methods that he believes Sadr will use to approve Allawi’s newly formed cabinet.

In a tweet last week, Sadr threatened a million person march against Iraqi parliamentarians if they failed to approve a new cabinet in an emergency parliamentary session last week. 

“I believe Sadr wants to force parliament to accept Allawi, same as he forces the government by sending people to the streets,” Amin said. “I  personally believe Allawi is a good politician, but this method of electing a new PM is not approved by Kurds and Sunnis.”

 Amin also revealed that he does not believe Allawi’s proposed cabinet will gain enough votes in Iraqi parliament on Sunday to be officially adopted.

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