ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior figure in Iraq’s al-Hikma Movement said on Sunday that Kurdish and Sunni political parties have reached an agreement with Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi on their shares in the incoming cabinet, as parliament prepares to vote on the new government within days, adding that the US opposes granting ministries to armed factions unless they disarm.
“According to information, our Kurdish and Sunni brothers have reached an agreement with the Prime Minister-designate, and their ministries will remain as they are,” Abdullah al-Zaidi, an advisor to the Iraqi president and senior member of the Shiite al-Hikma Movement, led by Ammar al-Hakim, told Rudaw.
The politician also said the Kurds are expected to receive four ministries and Sunnis six, with the possible addition of a deputy prime minister position without a ministry.
His remarks come as Iraq’s parliament prepares for a confidence vote on the new cabinet in the coming days, according to the secretary-general of the legislature Safwan al-Jarjari who said late Saturday that all preparations for the session had been finalized and that invitations would be sent to political leaders and diplomats ahead of the vote, which could take place on Monday or Tuesday.
“We hope the government will pass by the middle or end of this week. If not Tuesday, I expect it to be Thursday,” al-Hikma’s Zaidi said, adding that the cabinet could still secure approval “with an absolute majority” even if not fully complete.