The Iraqi Parliament yesterday gave Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government a vote of confidence and adopted a 43-point programme aimed at liberalising the economy and fighting terrorism.

After more than nine months of political deadlock and wrangling, parliament in separate votes gave its approval to Mr Maliki, three deputy prime ministers and 29 other Cabinet ministers, as well as the government programme.

And it approved interim ministers for the remaining nine cabinet posts, with Mr Maliki controlling the three security portfolios.

Mr Maliki said he had delayed proposing the remaining ministers because he needed more time to evaluate the options, having received some CVs as late as yesterday.

“I need more time to choose better, and I will continue to study the files to be able to choose on the basis of efficiency and professionalism,” he said.

He also pointed to the lack of women candidates as a reason for the delay.

I find myself obliged... to wait for the political entities to present women candidates,” he said.

There is only one woman, Minister of State Bushra Hussein Saleh, among the ministers approved yesterday, while there were four in the previous government.

For his part, ex-Premier Iyad Allawi, whose Iraqiya bloc won narrowly more seats than Mr Maliki’s in the March 7 election but was unable to forge a parliamentary majority, announced his support for the government.

“We wish and we hope for this government to succeed in meeting the people’s requirements,” Mr Allawi said, adding that to advance this goal, “we are announcing our full support for the government.”

Iraq’s latest crop of ministers include Hoshyar Zebari, who has been in every government since 2003, as foreign minister, out-going Deputy Prime Minister Rafa al-Essawi of Iraqiya as finance minister and former deputy oil minister Abdulkarim al-Luaybi as minister of oil.