BAGHDAD, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had been expected to name a Cabinet Monday, but politicians now say it may be delayed.
Parliament member Mahmood Othman told CNN it will be "at least" Wednesday before the unity Cabinet is presented.
Senior politicians said the vital ministries of interior, defense and national security would be filled later, but Amir al-Kinani, a member of cleric Moqtada Sadr's bloc, said it would not vote on an incomplete government.
Coming nine months after parliamentary elections failed to give Maliki or his archrival, Iyad Allawi, enough seats to rule alone, the new unity government is expected to include Iraq's major factions -- the Kurds, Shiite and Sunni Arabs. Parliament must approve each nomination to the 37 positions, the BBC reported.
That the power-sharing coalition will hold together as the Cabinet charts Iraq's future is uncertain, The National says.
While Allawi said Sunday he and his Sunni-backed party have agreed to the alliance, along with Kurdish political leader Massoud Barzani, he cautioned it could fall apart if a new strategic policy council proves toothless.
"If there is any change to the agreements on power, then there will be a different story all together," The National quoted Allawi as saying.
A key to the power-sharing agreement was a parliamentary vote to lift a pre-election ban on three Allawi allies with alleged ties to the outlawed Baath party. One of them, Saleh al Mutlaq, may now find himself in the new government.