ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - After hours of delay, Iraqi Parliament has begun its emergency session with 266 members of parliament present to vote on Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi's government cabinet, according to Halkawt Aziz, a Rudaw reporter on the scene.
"This government will be the government of tackling the crises," said Kadhimi, addressing the Iraqi parliament on his government's agenda.
"We are trying to reorganize relations with the Kurdistan Region according to the Iraqi constitution," Kadhimi said.
He added that his government is working toward holding "free and fair elections."
Each of Kadhimi’s cabinet members will need 165 votes in order for his cabinet to be approved by lawmakers, Amin Bakir, a legal adviser to Iraqi parliament speaker, told Rudaw TV.
Kadhimi's proposed cabinet includes 12 ministers from the Shiite parties, six from the Sunnis and three from the Kurds, and one from a minority group, according to Dana Katib, a Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) member of parliament in Baghdad.
"The Christians are likely to receive a ministry dedicated to the minorities," Katib told Rudaw English on Wednesday.
State media channel Iraqiya claims that Kurds will hold three ministerial posts on the Kadhimi draft cabinet list including Fuad Hussein as foreign minister, Khalid Shwani as justice minister, and Nazanin Mohammed as Construction, Housing, Municipalities, and Public Works minister.
Kurdish leadership initially unanimously threw their support behind Kadhimi, with the deputy speaker today calling it “unwavering.”
However, a number of members of parliament in the Change Movement and New Generation have decided not to vote on Kadhimi’s cabinet on grounds that "this cabinet and its prime minister have not officially guaranteed to resolve the Region's budget, civil servants as well as Peshmerga salaries' issues .... and other financial entitlements."
The MPs announced their decision at a press conference Wednesday night, saying that Kadhimi only engaged in talks with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) for his cabinet’s formation.
"Hereby we declare that we are not carrying any responsibility for the implications of approving this cabinet," Kawa Mohammed, a Change Movement member of parliament, read from a statement at the press conference.
Twenty-four members of parliament from Basra province have also announced at a press conference that they will refrain from voting on Kadhimi’s cabinet due to the list not containing any representation from the province, having coveted the oil ministry portfolio.
Already announcing their rejection of Kadhimi's cabinet, some Shiite political coalitions - including former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition and former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's al-Wataniyah coalition - have decided to boycott the parliament session in which Kadhimi will present his cabinet for approval.
Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Mohammed al-Haddad does not expect the entire list to be approved, but says that Kadhimi can still be given a vote of confidence if just over half his list passes.
"It is not necessary for the entire cabinet to be approved. We have received the names of 20 ministers. Even if we are able to approve 12 to 13, it is constitutional. The cabinet can pass if more than half of the ministers are approved," added Haddad, who noted that they are yet to receive the names for the foreign and oil minister positions.
Iraqi parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi called on MPs on Monday night to head to Baghdad for an emergency session to decide on Kadhimi’s proposed cabinet at 9 pm on Wednesday.
Updated: 12:51 AM
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