Iraqi Parliament approves new government headed by Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani

Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who was assigned to form the country’s new government after months of political instability, makes a statement after parliament gives confidence vote to Cabinet led by Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, in Baghdad, Iraq on October 27, 2022. [Iraqi Parliament / Handout – Anadolu Agency]

Iraqi lawmakers approved a new government on Thursday, ending over a year of deadlock but still faces many challenges, Reuters reports.

Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, 52, who previously served as Iraq’s Human Rights Minister as well as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, will head the new government.

Sudani’s picks for 21 ministries passed during a Parliament vote on the Cabinet. He named the Head of state-run South Gas Co. (SGC), Hayan Abdul Ghani, as Oil Minister.

Thursday’s Parliament session comes a year after an election in which populist Shia Muslim cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr was the biggest winner, but failed to rally support to form a government.

Sadr withdrew his 73 lawmakers in August and said he would quit politics, prompting the worst violence in Baghdad for years, when his loyalists stormed a government palace and fought rival Shia groups, most of them backed by Iran and with armed wings.

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