Zaidi submits government program to parliament

BAGHDAD — Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi submitted his government program to Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi on Thursday ahead of its distribution to lawmakers for review, with cabinet names to be presented at a later stage.

The two sides discussed coordination to complete the confidence vote process, stressing “the importance of cooperation and joint coordination to complete the entitlement of granting confidence to the government and its ministerial program as the basic foundation upon which the government’s work and duties are based,” according to a statement from the prime minister’s media office.

Zaidi was nominated on April 27 by the Coordination Framework following the withdrawal of both Maliki and incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. He faces a constitutional deadline at the end of May to present his cabinet to parliament.