Iraqi politicians again delayed naming a government today, prolonging a political vacuum seen aiding an insurgency but a senior politician said a cabinet could come as soon tomorrow.
Jawad al-Maliki, a top member of the Shi'ite Muslim Iraqi National Alliance, the main Shi'ite coalition, said wrangling over appointments to key ministries had put off today's expected announcement of a proposed cabinet.
Violence has surged in recent weeks as political momentum generated by January 30 elections has waned. Two twin car bombings killed 22 people yesterday, and at least 180 Iraqi security personnel have died in the last six weeks.
Lawmakers have said the Shi'ite alliance has moved to form a government with the Kurds and minority Sunni Muslims. It rejected demands by caretaker Prime Minister Iyad Allawi that his party have a share of key ministries.
The cabinet "was expected to be announced today, but it seems that some details about naming ministries and ministers prevented that," Maliki, a lawmaker who has been involved in the negotiations, said after a meeting of the National Assembly.
"There is a meeting today to solve these details and people involved in the meeting are saying that tomorrow it (the government) will be announced," he said in televised comments.