Hussein Zainulabdeen

Nine Portfolios Still Open: Will the Coming Cabinet Vote Include a Turkmen Share? By Hussein Zainulabdeen | Independent Researcher — Iraqi Minority Rights | husseinmonitor.com Nearly three months after Iraq's parliament granted partial confidence to the government of Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi, nine ministries remain unfilled. A second vote is expected in the coming weeks, and with it a question that Iraq's political class has answered the same way three governments in a row: does the country's third-largest community get a seat at the cabinet table, or does it once again get a statement of appreciation instead? The answer matters beyond symbolism. In Iraq's system, a ministry is not merely an honour. It is a budget line, a hiring authority, a channel for reconstruction contracts, and a seat in the room where decisions about Kirkuk, Tal Afar, Tuz Khurmatu, and the file of the missing are actually made. Where Things Actually Stand On 14 May ...