Iraq MPs approve new government

It is a delicate balancing act for Mr Maliki

The Iraqi parliament is due to vote on the composition of its new government, after political wrangling delayed progress on Monday.

MPs will vote on a list of 42 nominees for ministerial posts individually, according to the parliamentary speaker.

The new cabinet is expected to include all the major factions, including the Kurds, Shia and Sunni Arabs.

The country has been awaiting the formation of a new government since inconclusive elections in March.

The incumbent Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, was reappointed in November following a power-sharing deal.

Mr Maliki had been due to unveil the new cabinet posts on Monday, but last-minute negotiations between rival factions postponed the move and parliament adjourned without a list.

The session is expected to begin at 1400 (1100 GMT).

The BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse in Baghdad says that there are still disagreements in some areas, and it is possible that a number of the nominations will meet resistance from some of the diverse and competing political blocs that will – it is hoped – soon make up Iraq’s new government of national unity.

But the real test of this coalition will come when these newly-appointed ministers get down to work, and start to tackle the country’s many problems, our correspondent says.

The constitutional deadline for voting on the cabinet list is Saturday.

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