Two Iraqi Shia ministers resign

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) –On Thursday, the Iraqi Prime Minister called upon the political parties to submit a list of candidates to form a new cabinet as two Shia ministers resigned.

The two leaders from the Shia’s Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), Baqir al-Jabir Sulagh, Minister of Transportation, and Adil Abdulmahdi, Minister of Oil, handed their letters of resignation to the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. This is the second time the latter is trying to resign.

In a statement released on his Facebook on Thursday, Abdulmahdi said, “I announce the suspension of my presence in the Ministry of Oil until the parliament agrees with my resignation which was sent to the Prime Minister.”

Iraqi media sources stated that Sulagh sent his letter of resignation to the PM for the third time on Tuesday, and he has decided to not appear in the Ministry of Transportation until Abadi finally approves the resignation.

According to a statement by the Iraqi Prime Minister Office (PMO) released on March 10, Abadi sent a document to the Iraqi political parties, outlining the criteria he will use to select his ministers in a new cabinet within less than a week. So far only Muqtada Sadr’s al-Ahrar bloc in the Iraqi parliament has submitted a list of candidates to Abadi.

The PMO released a statement on Thursday confirming that the PM has received candidates from the al-Ahrar bloc. It called other political parties in the parliament to send their nominees for the new cabinet within two days.

In February 2016, Abadi formed a committee to oversee the reshaping of his cabinet and to create a new technocratic government.

“I ask for a major reshuffle to include professionals, technocrats, [and] academics, and I call upon the Council of Representatives and political parties to cooperate with us [during] this precarious stage,” Abadi announced in a broadcasted speech.

Reporting by Baxtiyar Goran

Editing by Ava Homa