Fayadh candidacy for Interior Ministry has been withdrawn: MP

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Falih al-Fayadh is no longer a candidate for the post of Minister of the Interior, a member of the parliament said on Friday. Controversy over Fayadh’s nomination has contributed to months of delay in completing the cabinet.

“For the Ministry of Interior, the nomination of Fayadh has been withdrawn because it was subject to disagreements between the two big alliances,” Hamid Abbas, an MP with the Fatah alliance, told Rudaw.

Abbas said his pro-Iran alliance are working with Sayirun to establish standards for the security portfolios – the interior and defence ministries – both of which remain vacant months after the majority of the cabinet was sworn in.

New names have been put forth, “but before names, standards for the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense have been set up,” explained Abbas.

He said that a universally acceptable Interior nominee will be presented at an upcoming parliamentary session.

The legislature has been in recess for more than a month. It was scheduled to resume work on March 5, but postponed the date to Saturday because many ministers and lawmakers were taking part in the Suli Forum at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani this week.

Inability to settle on Ministers of Interior, Defence, and Justice has prevented Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi from filling his cabinet.

The Ministry of Interior is traditionally held by a Shiite, while Defense is held by a Sunni.

The two largest parliamentary blocs, the Islah alliance headed by Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sayirun, and Bina headed by the Hashd al-Shaabi affiliated Fatah coalition, have sparred over the Ministry of Interior.

Sadr has been adamant in his push for technocrats to fill both the Defence and Interior Ministries, rejecting Fayadh’s bid while Fatah vowed not to back down in their support of him.

Months of wrangling and boycotts left parliament frequently unable to meet legal quorum. This has pushed Fatah to realize it can’t forcefully place Fayadh in the ministry.

Fayadh is currently National Security Advisor and head of the Hashd al-Shaabi commission. He was appointed by former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, prior to which he didn’t have a background in security. Accused of politicizing his position, Fayadh was briefly fired by Maliki’s successor Haider al-Abadi, but was reinstated by Abdul-Mahdi as part of a blanket ruling that cancelled all decisions made by Abadi during the weeks of transition between their governments.

Fayadh could potentially remain as National Security Advisor as a concession to him.

“We are keen for ministries to be headed by specialists, technocrats,” Abbas said, noting that the security portfolios need to be managed by people who have a background in the two ministries.

Sunnis, divided among the two large Shiite-controlled blocs, are similarly fighting over who should take the Defence helm.

Those in the Islah bloc, aligned with Sadr, claim the Sunni National Axis Alliance, aligned with Bina, have monopolized the Sunni share in the government.

As for the Ministry of Justice, the Kurdish parties – Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) – have already reached an agreement.

Hopes are high that all three ministries might finally be filled when parliament reconvenes.

Fayadh candidacy for Interior Ministry has been withdrawn: MP

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