Iraqi Parliament votes on deputies to the Prime Minister and vacant and newly created ministries
Iraqi Council of Representatives votes on the formation of the government and deputies to the Prime Minister
Translated by Qiyas from كونا — Original source
Baghdad, October 15 (KUNA) -- The Iraqi Parliament voted today, Thursday, on the deputies of the Prime Minister and on the nominees for vacant and newly created ministerial portfolios in the Iraqi government. The Parliament’s media office said in a statement that the session was held with the attendance of 261 out of 329 MPs, presided over by Parliament Speaker Heibat al-Halbousi and attended by Prime Minister Ali al-Idabi.
The Council voted for Muhammad Tamim, Laith al-Khazaali, and Mohsin al-Mandalawi as deputies to the Prime Minister, while failing to elect a nominee for the fourth deputy post, Fares Sadiq. The Council also voted for Yasser al-Maliki as Minister of Interior, Naif al-Shamari as Minister of Defense, Qutaiba Ghazi as Minister of Planning, Haider Bahaa as Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Yasin al-Aithawi as Minister of Culture, and Ribaz Muhammad as Minister of Reconstruction, Housing, and Municipalities. It also voted for Muhammad al-Musawi as Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Safa al-Kinani as Minister of Youth and Sports, Ali al-Dakhili as Minister of Tourism, Muhammad al-Daraji as Minister of Digital Economy and Government, and Muhammad Samaan as Minister of State.
The voting today saw the creation of three new ministries: Tourism, Digital Economy and Governance, and the Ministry of State. It also saw the reinstatement of deputy prime minister positions, which had been abolished in 2015 in the government of Haider al-Abadi as part of administrative reforms.
This completes al-Idabi’s government with 25 ministerial portfolios and three deputy prime ministers. The prime minister has pledged that his elected deputies will serve without salaries, without financial allocations, and without making new appointments for their offices, due to the country’s financial crisis.
The Iraqi Parliament previously granted confidence to al-Idabi’s government on May 14 by voting on 14 ministerial portfolios, while the remaining vacant ministries have been managed on an acting basis by other ministers and deputy ministers until today. (End) A.H. / H.S.S.
