Iraqi parliament to vote on new government May 6

By Haydar Karaalp

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraq’s parliament will sit on Wednesday to vote for the cabinet of Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who is tasked with forming a new government.

The vote of confidence session for the new cabinet will be held at 9 p.m. local time (1800GMT), according to a statement from the parliamentary press office.

Parliament Speaker Mohamed Al-Halbousi said in the statement that the al-Kadhimi cabinet will consist of 12 ministers from the Shiites, six from the Sunnis and three from the Kurds.

It is claimed that Turkmen and Christians were kept out of the cabinet.

Iraqi President Barham Salih appointed al-Kadhimi, a former director of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, as prime minister-designate on April 9.

According to the Iraqi constitution, al-Kadhimi is required to form a government within one month.

Iraq has been roiled by mass protests since early October over poor living conditions and corruption, forcing Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi to resign.

At least 496 Iraqis have been killed and 17,000 have been injured since the protests began on Oct. 1, according to Iraq's High Commission for Human Rights.

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara