BAGHDAD - The unveiling of a new Iraqi government could be delayed until the weekend despite assurances by President Jalal Talabani that the cabinet would be revealed Thursday, senior politicians said.
"There will be a meeting tonight, tomorrow, and an announcement probably Saturday", Ali Dabbagh, an MP for the dominant Shiite-led United Iraqi Alliance, told AFP late Wednesday.
Dabbagh said negotiations were still ongoing with outgoing prime minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqiyah list and the Sunni Muslim bloc.
Earlier in the day, Talabani, a Kurd, said Prime minister-designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari would unveil the new cabinet line-up on Thursday, more than 11 weeks after general elections.
But Adnan Ali, a spokesman for Jaafari, cautioned that it was not 100-percent certain the cabinet would be unveiled Thursday.
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.
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 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, with a one-month deadline to form a government.
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 18:03 GMT