ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Finance Minister Ali Allawi resigned from his position on Tuesday, at a time of an ongoing political crisis and protests over the failure to form the country’s next cabinet.
Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar will fill the vacated position going forward, according to Iraqi state media.
Allawi, who served the position since May 2020, submitted his resignation during a Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday. The resignation was approved by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
The role of the minister of finance was Allawi’s third ministerial position since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, having previously filled the posts of Iraq’s minister of defense and minister of trade.
“The text of the resignation shows that the achievements made by the government have been hindered by the struggles of political forces, and that the government is constrained by the deepening conflict between the political forces,” said Hassan Nadhim, the spokesperson of the council of ministers, in a press conference following the meeting, without elaborating on the reason behind the resignation.
Abdul Jabar, Iraq’s oil minister since June 2020, will serve as acting finance minister in Allawi’s place, as tasked by PM Kadhimi during the meeting.
Kadhimi was named as interim prime minister in April 2020 by President Barham Salih, following the resignation of Adel Abdel Mahdi and mass anti-government protests across Iraq.
The resignation comes at a time of ongoing protests and sit-ins staged in Baghdad and several southern provinces over the failure to form a government and ongoing political deadlock.
Kadhimi’s cabinet was supposed to serve until the formation of an elected government, but continues to operate 10 months after the elections, due to the legislature’s failure to form the next cabinet on account of ongoing disagreements between the major political forces in Iraq.
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