State of Law bids for interior and higher education portfolios as cabinet remains incomplete

BAGHDAD — The State of Law Coalition has sent Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi its nominees for the interior and higher education ministries, a coalition lawmaker said, exactly 100 days after parliament approved a government with nine posts unfilled.

“The State of Law Coalition sent the names of its nominees for the portfolios of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Higher Education to Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, in preparation for deciding on the two ministers in the coming days,” Othman al-Shaibani said. He did not name them.

Hisham al-Rikabi, who runs the media office of coalition leader Nouri al-Maliki, separately denied reports that Maliki had agreed to give up the security portfolio, calling them inaccurate and saying the matter was not part of current talks.

Parliament approved 14 ministers and the government programme on May 14 but rejected the nominees for planning, culture, construction and housing, higher education and interior, and postponed votes on defence, labour, migration and youth and sports. State of Law’s rejected interior nominee at the time was Qasim Atta. Zaidi told Coordination Framework leaders this month that completing the government was close.

Both the interior and defence ministries have been without confirmed ministers throughout a period in which U.S. and Saudi aircraft struck sites across seven governorates, drones hit the Kurdistan Region prime minister’s office, and the government has pursued its policy of bringing weapons under state control.