BAGHDAD - Prime minister-designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari will finally unveil Iraq's new cabinet line-up on Thursday, President Jalal Talabani said Wednesday on state-run Iraqiya TV.
Talabani made the announcement after meeting with Jaafari, outgoing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, and Shiite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a key member of the United Iraq Alliance (UIA), a Shiite list which won the January elections.
UIA member Ali Dabbagh said leaders were still sorting out the final cabinet names.
Just before Talabani's announcement, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that the cabinet posts were virtually ready to be unveiled but did not give a date.
"There are two final pieces. Ministerial positions being given to the Shiite and Kurdish lists are almost decided, while we continue to discuss posts to be given to Iyad Allawi's list and to Sunni Arabs," Zebari told AFP.
"Prime minister-designate Jaafari will announce the cabinet in a press conference before presenting it to the parliament," said Zebari, a member of the Kurdish delegation negotiating to form the government.
Sunnis largely boycotted the election, but they are expected to be given four of some 30 ministerial posts, including defense. They hold 16 seats in the parliament.
The Shiite list has a parliamentary majority of 146 in the 275-member parliament, while a Kurdish coalition holds 77 seats.
A three-member presidential council on April 7 named Jaafari to the post of prime minister.
Shiite and Kurdish leaders have warned that any further delays in setting up the government, 11 weeks after the historic January 30 polls, could play into the hands of insurgents.
04/20/2005 16:08 GMT