18 December 2010 VOA News Iraqi officials say Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will name a new Cabinet Monday, potentially ending a nine-month political stalemate after inconclusive elections.
Meanwhile, Iraq's parliament voted Saturday, 109 to 61, to lift bans on three Sunni politicians barred from running in the March elections for alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's ousted Baath party.
Overturning the ban allows
the three to resume participation in politics.
Late last month, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani asked Mr. Maliki to form a new government as part of a deal to end the political stalemate, and gave him 30 days to choose a new cabinet.
Mr. Talabani's request came after Iraq's Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni political leaders reached a power-sharing deal that put Mr. Maliki, a Shi'ite, on track for a second term.
In Iraq's March 7 elections, the Iraqiya coalition of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi won the most seats, two more than Mr. Maliki's State of Law coalition. But neither won enough for a parliamentary majority, triggering the political impasse.
Iraqiya's inability to find political partners allowed Mr. Maliki, who partnered with anti-American Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in an Iranian-backed coalition, to gain momentum and support.
Late last month, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani asked Mr. Maliki to form a new government as part of a deal to end the political stalemate, and gave him 30 days to choose a new cabinet.
Mr. Talabani's request came after Iraq's Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni political leaders reached a power-sharing deal that put Mr. Maliki, a Shi'ite, on track for a second term.
In Iraq's March 7 elections, the Iraqiya coalition of former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi won the most seats, two more than Mr. Maliki's State of Law coalition. But neither won enough for a parliamentary majority, triggering the political impasse.
Iraqiya's inability to find political partners allowed Mr. Maliki, who partnered with anti-American Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in an Iranian-backed coalition, to gain momentum and support.
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