Cabinet approved by Iraqi parliament

AFTER nearly three months of political wrangling, Iraq’s interim National Assembly approved a partial cabinet yesterday, ushering in the country’s first elected government since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

However, the 37-member cabinet still has two vacancies and five acting ministers, and fails to incorporate in a meaningful way the Sunni Arab minority due to a dispute over the suitability of Ba’athists who served in Saddam Hussein’s regime. The historic decision was made with a third of legislators in the 275-member National Assembly absent.

Prime minister-designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari said that decisions over the vacant and acting cabinet positions will be made soon.