BAGHDAD - Leaders of IraqÂ’s various parliamentary blocs were set to meet President Jalal Talabani on Monday to finalise the countryÂ’s first full-term post-Saddam Hussein cabinet, a Shiite MP said.Bassem Sharif of the dominant Shiite United Iraqi Alliance said all the leaders were meeting at TalabaniÂ’s house to decide on the new cabinet. He said the leaders of the Shiite alliance were also meeting separately to choose its candidate to head the crucial interior ministry.
Another political source close to the negotiations said Shiite leaders were considering independent Shiite MP Qassem Daoud to head the ministry or retain the incumbent Bayan Jabr Solagh. Sunni Arab politicians have strongly criticised Solagh and accused his ministryÂ’s Shiite-led forces of operating death squads that indulged in extra-judicial killings of Sunni Arabs.
Following his nomination as prime minister designate, Nuri al-Maliki has said he would form the new cabinet by May 10 and was also considering an independent candidate to head the interior ministry. The source also said that former parliament speaker Hajem al-Hasseni, a Sunni, was being considered to head the defence ministry.