Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was to unveil a national unity cabinet Monday, potentially bringing to an end months of deadlock after elections, though key security posts will remain vacant.
The upcoming announcement gives parliament five days to consider and approve ministers ahead of a Saturday deadline for a government to be named, with a year to go before US troops must withdraw from Iraq completely.
The unfilled positions in the ministries of interior, defence and national security mean, however, that Maliki will take interim control of Iraq's security forces.
That is despite past criticism that the premier has steadily tightened his grip on power by grouping increasing responsibilities under the office of the prime minister.
Politicians cited the sensitivity of the security posts and the need for consensus as reasons for the delay.
"He will head a government of 38 ministers and ministers of state, but the three ministries in charge of security will not be announced tomorrow," Khalid al-Assadi, an MP in Maliki's coalition who is considered close to the premier, told AFP on Sunday.
"The ministers will be chosen by Maliki from among a field of candidates and he will present his choices to all the parties to have their agreement because these ministers cannot be party political," Assadi said.
Including Maliki's own position and that of his three expected deputy prime ministers, the cabinet will number 42, slightly larger than the previous one.
Maliki's State of Law coalition won 89 seats in the elections, two fewer than the Iraqiya bloc of ex-premier Iyad Allawi. But neither won enough for a parliamentary majority, resulting in an impasse that is only now being resolved.
A power-sharing deal last month finally broke the deadlock, with Maliki being named prime minister-designate on November 25 and given 30 days to name his government.
According to Assadi, the National Alliance, a Maliki-led pan-Shiite coalition, will control 17 ministries, while Iraqiya will hold nine. The Kurdish bloc will retain seven, with the remainder being divided among other smaller groupings.
As a condition for agreeing to the deal, Allawi demanded that pre-election bans on several of his bloc's members for alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's regime be overturned, and a new statutory body be created to oversee security matters, with himself at the helm.
Based on those demands, three members of Iraqiya had their bans overturned in parliament on Saturday by a vote of 109-61. Iraq's Council of Representatives has 325 seats, with a quorum requiring 163 lawmakers.
Lifting the ban on a fourth politician was delayed but is expected to happen in the coming days.
Parliament will on Tuesday also begin considering legislation to establish the statutory body demanded by Allawi, the National Council on Strategic Policies.
