Iraq Gov't Clears Hurdle Months after Elections

Updated at 3:24 p.m. ET

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki submitted his new Cabinet on Monday, clearing a hurdle to seating a government more than nine months after national elections.

But nearly one-third of the nominees were only acting ministers, an attempt to buy time to work out disagreements with a key part of al-Maliki's coalition - the hardline Shiite faction loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

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Parliament was expected to vote on the list of 42 ministers and other top government posts as early as Tuesday, according to Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, a member of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya alliance that won the most seats in the March 7 election and, until this month, bitterly fought al-Maliki from keeping his job.

Flanked by al-Maliki at a joint news conference Monday night, al-Nujaifi said the prime minister had met his constitutional deadline to designate Iraq's new leadership.

"I am very happy today," al-Maliki told reporters. "What has happened today is new evidence that we, as Iraqis, cannot continue our differences forever."

Although 13 of the posts were filled with acting ministers, al-Nujaifi's endorsement suggested that Iraqiya was on board.

The Sadrists were another matter. They were promised eight of those jobs but also demanded another - the transportation ministry - and a deputy premiership. Al-Maliki rejected some of the Sadrist candidates because he said they were uneducated or otherwise unqualified.

The Sadrist alliance - which holds 40 of parliament's 325 seats - said they could replace the objectionable candidates but dug in their heels over the transportation and deputy prime minister posts. A Sadrist lawmaker who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate negotiations said the dispute threatens to derail the entire agreement.

Al-Maliki will serve as the acting minister for the nation's top three security posts to give lawmakers more time to ensure they are filled with politically independent officials, said government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.

He said the permanent nominees would be selected by Saturday to replace the acting ministers for the 10 other posts.

Mahmoud Othman, an independent Kurdish politician, said al-Maliki should have presented a cabinet with names of candidates for all 42 posts.

"I am concerned with the cabinet not being completed, leaving all the security posts in the hands of the prime minister," Othman said. "An agreement should be reached on all security posts. Why should they remain open and with the prime minister for an unspecified period of time?"

The prime minister said that discussions were still ongoing about the ministries, and that the short delay would ensure all parties are fairly represented in the government.

"The formation of national unity government in Iraq is a difficult and hard task because we need to find place in the government for all those who participated and won in the elections," al-Maliki said, speaking just hours after lawmakers gloomily predicted further delays.

Iraqiya only recently dropped its long-standing demand that its leader, Ayad Allawi, should have the first shot at forming the government. Allawi, a secular Shiite, said his concession to al-Maliki came after he was assured about a power-sharing agreement to divide up the posts among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.

It was al-Sadr's support - in a deal brokered by Iran - that largely enabled al-Maliki to build the framework for a majority coalition.

But their partnership has always been tenuous, and came as a surprise because the two had been enemies since 2008 when the prime minister launched an offensive crushing the al-Sadr's militia in Baghdad's Sadr City district and the southern city of Basra. Al-Maliki has served as prime minister since May 2006.

Sadrist lawmaker Amir al-Kinani said the party initially demanded Monday that al-Maliki designate ministers to run the military and police forces to ensure they did not go to officials who fought against them in the Basra and Baghdad battles. But al-Kinani later said their fears had been assuaged and that they expected to hear from Muqtada al-Sadr on Tuesday as to how to vote.

"We had information that al-Maliki was trying to appoint a person who is hostile to the Sadrists," al-Kinani said. "We have supporters and we do not want our people to be provoked. Now, we have these assurances and this issue has been settled."

Snapshot of Iraq's Top Incoming Leaders

Prime Minister

Nouri al-Maliki, Shiite, the current premier.

Al-Maliki, 60, was first installed as prime minister as a compromise candidate in 2006 but barely hung onto the job this year when his political coalition fell short of winning the most seats in national elections. He is from a village near the Shiite city of Hillah south of Baghdad.

President

Jalal Talabani, Kurd, also currently in office.

With his trademark grin and walrus mustache, Talabani, 77, has positioned himself as a father figure for Iraq. Despite holding a largely ceremonial post, he has flexed political muscle on some issues. He is viewed with suspicion by some Iraqis who believe the president should be an Arab.

Parliament Speaker

Osama al-Nujaifi, Sunni.

Al-Nujaifi and his brother, Ninevah Gov. Atheel al-Nujaifi, are two of the most powerful Sunni Arabs in Iraq's north and have taken hardline positions against Kurdish power in Mosul. The 54-year-old speaker was born in Mosul and has a degree in electric engineering.

Deputy Prime Minister

Saleh al-Mutlaq, Sunni.

The contentious anti-Iran Sunni lawmaker was banned from running in 2010 elections because of alleged ties with Saddam Hussein's disbanded Baath party, but allowed this week to resume his political life under a government power-sharing agreement. He was born in Fallujah in 1947.

Deputy Prime Minister

Hussain al-Shahristani, Shiite.

The current oil minister will oversee Iraq's lucrative energy industry in his new post. Al-Shahristani was imprisoned for years during Saddam Hussein's regime. He opposed oil deals signed by Kurdistan government. He was born in 1942 in Karbala and studied in Britain, Russia and Canada.

Foreign Minister

Hoshyar Zebari, Kurd, currently in the same post.

Articulate and accessible to reporters, Zebari, 64, has worked with American officials for years, going back to when he was the foreign spokesman for the Kurdistan Democratic Party. He speaks fluent English. He was born in the northern Kurdish town of Aqra, near Mosul.

National Council for Strategic Policies Chairman

Ayad Allawi, Shiite.

The Shiite former prime minister's alliance won the most seats in the March election with strong Sunni support. Born in Baghdad in 1946, Allawi abandoned the Baath party in 1975 and escaped an assassination attempt by Saddam agents in 1978 while he was in London.

Finance Minister

Rafia al-Issawi, Sunni.

He is currently serving as a deputy prime minister. He was a fierce critic of U.S. troop activity during the first major battle of Fallujah in 2004 when he was serving as director of the city's hospital, claiming more than 600 people - half of them women and children - were killed in the fighting.