After a year of waiting, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has finally delivered on long-overdue anti-corruption measures and other promises. On the 31st of March, Abadi trimmed the size of his cabinet from 22 ministers to 16 and submitted a list of 14 new names for parliamentary approval. He kept only his defence and interior ministers due to security reasons. After claims to instigate these transformations six weeks earlier but yet again delaying, street protests had broken out under the lead of anti-US Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and an ultimatum for 30 March was given by the Iraqi Parliament. As Abadi faced a potential vote-of-no-confidence, his decisions to form a technocrat government amount to a victory for Mr. Sadr and his massive support both inside and outside the ‘Green Zone’ (governmental quarter of the Parliament and Embassies).

Sunni politicians are demanding a complete cabinet reshuffle, Shiite lawmakers are divided in their stance on the new government and Kurdish politicians have insisted that 20 per cent of ministers in the new cabinet must be Kurdish. It is not clear if al-Abadi will propose a complete or partial reshuffle.

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For more information on the newly selected ministers, click here.