Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Korei is to seek parliamentary approval for a new cabinet today after defusing a crisis by meeting legislators' demands to name more reformists and fewer Arafat loyalists.
By drawing up a new list of ministers, he avoided being forced out. The new cabinet is considered crucial to efforts to overhaul the corruption-plagued Palestinian Authority amid peace moves with Israel.
After three successive days of postponing a vote, the Palestinian legislature scheduled a midday session today to ratify the cabinet, assuming that no last-minute obstacles emerge, officials said.
The meeting was scheduled after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas intervened late yesterday to win approval from younger lawmakers who had sought to sweep away the corruption-tainted vestiges of Arafat's era.
After four hours behind closed doors at Mr Abbas's headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Mr Korei told reporters: "It is over and it (the confidence vote) is going to be held tomorrow."
Officials said Mr Korei had named more technocrats, and nearly three-quarters of the cabinet - 17 of 24 ministers - were newcomers, and all but one do not serve in parliament, as dissenting legislators of the dominant Fatah faction had demanded.
Mr Korei's initial cabinet, presented on Monday, had contained only four new faces.