UN envoy concerns about Iraq's political stalemate
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E-mail Xinhua, February 14, 2019
The United Nations' new top envoy for Iraq expressed concern on Wednesday over the political stalemate revolving around the formation of the Cabinet.
The collaborative spirit between the leading parliamentary blocs four months ago allowed the consensual nomination of Adel Abdul-Mahdi as prime minister-designate, including a notably smooth transition of power, said Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
However, to date, the government of Iraq remains incomplete. Four ministerial positions are still vacant, with three of them -- interior, defense and justice -- being subject to fierce disagreements among political blocs, she told the Security Council in a briefing.
Within this context, multiple parliamentary sessions have been adjourned, interrupted or boycotted over the past months. And as a result, the implementation of the government program has made little headway and parliamentary committees have yet to start their substantive work, noted Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq.
To make things worse, the Iraqi Parliament is in a one-month recess and will only reconvene in early March, she said.
Ultimately, the people of Iraq are bearing the brunt of the political stalemate, she warned.
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