ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi political parties have been tasked with submitting their candidates for the remaining nine ministries by the middle of the week, a source from the ruling Coordination Framework told The New Region on Saturday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi took office in May with several key positions in his government still unsettled. Since then, nine ministries have remained vacant, including the defense and interior portfolios.

The source said that political parties have been tasked with submitting their candidates by the middle of the week as a vote to complete the cabinet is set to take place at the end of the month.

Zaidi’s government emerged from an agreement within the Iran-backed Shiite Coordination Framework, while his rise to the premiership was also strongly backed by influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The first controls the largest bloc in parliament, while the second wields considerable influence on the streets through his millions of followers.

He was also seen as a compromise figure amid US pressure. Zaidi has enjoyed staunch support from the US since his nomination by the Shiite ruling bloc.

However, demanded that figures belonging to or backed by Iran-aligned armed factions be excluded from his cabinet’s top executive posts regardless of their parliamentary weight and political entitlements.

In September, Iraqi officials and politicians told The New Region that US officials had threatened to boycott Zaidi’s government and impose economic sanctions against Iraq if such appointments take place.