Sadrists Question PM's List for New Ministers
Seven Nominees Submitted; Reshuffle Could Cover 15 Portfolios
Posted 4 hr. 19 min. ago
The Maliki government’s first list of candidates in a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle has been received by the Parliament, according to reports in the Arabic-language media.
However, the Sadrist bloc has signaled its opposition to the many of the nominations, on the grounds that some of the candidates are too closely tied to political formations.
When the Sadrist bloc, loyal to the young Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, withdrew its six ministers from the cabinet last month, they demanded that Maliki appoint “independent technocrats” in their place.
The government circulated a first list of seven names today. Al-Melaf reports in Arabic that the nominees include:Dr Meyada abd al-Kadhim al-Hujami, nominee to head the Ministry of Civil SocietyThese seven positions include the six vacated by the Sadrist current last month, along with the Ministry of Justice, from which MP Hazim al-Shibli resigned at the end of March.
Dr. Sabir al-'Esawi, nominee to head the Ministry of Agriculture
Ahmad Habib al-'Abbas, Ministry of Justice
Dr. Zuhair al-Shurba, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
Dr. Adnan abd al-'Unouz, Ministry of Health
Sami al-'Askari, Ministry of Transport
Dr. Rafi' Shabr, Ministry of State for Provincial Affairs
Aswat al-Iraq ran a similar list in Arabic, noting that its source inside the Iraqi government pointed out that several of the candidates “are not independents,” and expected the Sadrist bloc to object to some of the candidates.
Al-'Askari, candidate to oversee the Ministry of Transport, is an MP with the governing United Iraqi Alliance. He is considered a close aide to Prime Minister Maliki.
The rest are not members of Parliament.
Sabir al-'Esawi, nominee for the Ministry of Agriculture, is the mayor of Baghdad and close to the SCIRI party, Reuters reports. SCIRI is the largest party in the governing United Iraqi Alliance.
A senior Sadrist official who saw the proposed list of candidates called on Maliki to change the nominees, Reuters reports.
"We are still committed to the decision of Sayyid Moqtada (al-Sadr) to accept our ministers be replaced by independent and competent ministers," a senior official in the Sadrist bloc told Reuters, using a common honorific title for the cleric.
"But the names we saw today were absolutely not like that. He (Maliki) needs to change them." The official requested anonymity.
Under the Iraqi constitution, cabinet positions must be approved by a vote of the Parliament.
The Sadrist bloc holds 30 seats in the 275-member body.
The Sadrist movement claimed that they had abandoned the Maliki government in order to isolate the prime minister for not backing a demand for a withdrawal timetable for US forces. However, it also came to light that the bloc had earlier advanced a list of names to Maliki for consideration in a cabinet reshuffle and that those names were not accepted.
The Kuwaiti daily al-Watan reports that the reshuffle could ultimately cover as many as 15 ministerial portfolios, not including the controversial security portfolios of the Interior and Defense ministries.
A source close to the PM’s office told al-Watan that Maliki is discussing with his aides the files of approximately 30 potential candidates, next Wednesday is his deadline for advancing the list to the Parliament. Presumably this list of thirty extends to positions other than the six for which candidates were nominated above.
Al-Watan’s sources suggest that recent meetings between Maliki and Iraqi president Jalal Talabani and a controversial meeting with with Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hasheimi indicate that some positions held by Tawafuq and the Kurdish blocs could be involved in the shuffle.
Al-Watan’s sources speculate that the reshuffle may also include the ministries of culture, municipalities, human rights, housing and construction, sports and youth, as well as the possible creation of a new “ministry of state for the presidency of the republic,” for which Nasir al-'Ani, a leader in the Islamic Party, may be the first candidate.
The Islamic Party is one of the three parties that form the Tawafuq Front in the Iraqi Parliament.
Al-Watan’s sources also expect some movement to shuffle employees at some ministries in the name of establishing balance in civilian positions in the security apparatus.
Maliki first stated that he was preparing a cabinet realignment in an early March interview with the Associated Press. Since then, the reshuffle has been proclaimed imminent several times, but this is the first time that the PM has circulated a list of names to the Parliament.
Even so, the opposition of the Sadrist bloc may create serious problems for the PM’s candidates.
"It may not be a smooth vote," said an MP with the ruling United Iraqi Alliance, Reuters reports.