By Xinhua,
Baghdad : The Iraqi parliament accepted on Saturday the candidates for ten vacant ministerial posts, including six posts for major Sunni Arab bloc, official Iraqi television reported.
Today’s session witnessed the return of the Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) to the Shiite-led government after the Sunni bloc quit Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s cabinet almost a year ago, the television said.
The parliament voted in six portfolios for the IAF, including deputy prime minister, the channel said.
The parliament also voted in four independent candidates as ministers to replace those from the Sadr movement loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who boycotted Maliki’s government since last year, it added.
“The Iraqi parliament accepted today our candidates, which means that our Accordance Front has returned officially to the government,” Saleem al-Jubouri told reporters after the vote.
“The move is a real step forward in the Iraqi political process,” Jubouri said.
On Friday, Ali al-Dabbagh, the government spokesman, said his government had sent a list of ten candidates to fill out the vacated ministerial portfolios to the parliament for voting.