Iraq Parliament Approves Final Cabinet Posts Amid Economic Strain
Iraq's parliament has completed the formation of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's government, approving 11 cabinet portfolios and three deputy prime ministers.
Lawmakers voted in Baghdad on Thursday, Oct. 15, with al-Zaidi present to approve the remaining members of his cabinet. The vote fills out a government that took office in May after parliament approved its program and its members took the constitutional oath, according to parliamentary records. Iraqi parliament
The session approved Nayef al-Shammari as defence minister and Yasir al-Maliki as interior minister. A vote on the migration and displacement minister was postponed because of disagreement among parties, according to Al Jazeera.
Lawmakers also approved Laith al-Khazali as one of the three deputy prime ministers. Al-Khazali is a senior leader of Asaib Ahl al-Haq and the brother of Qais al-Khazali. The United States designated Asaib Ahl al-Haq as a foreign terrorist organisation in 2020, and the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Laith al-Khazali and Qais al-Khazali in 2019 over the killing of protesters in Iraq.
Al-Zaidi said his deputy prime ministers will not receive salaries, financial allocations or staff appointments, parliament reported. Iraqi parliament
The cabinet votes come as al-Zaidi has described severe pressure on public finances. He said the government inherited public debt exceeding 208 trillion Iraqi dinars, or $139 billion at the new exchange rate, and needs about 10 trillion dinars, or $6.7 billion, each month for salaries and critical spending.
Before the war, Iraq exported roughly 3.5 million barrels of oil per day through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to open seas, generating 90 percent of government revenue. Al-Zaidi has devalued the Iraqi dinar by almost 15 percent against the U.S. dollar.
