BAGHDAD - Iraq's new government will not be formed until next Thursday at earliest, said Hussein Shahrastani, the parliament's deputy speaker and a senior member of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA).
"The earliest would be the end of the next week," Shahrastani said on Friday.
His words confirmed the caution displayed on Wednesday by prime minister designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari who warned that forming a cabinet could take time.
Sharastani's words deflated expectations the government could still be unveiled this Sunday when the 275-member parliament holds its next session.
"The national assembly for Sunday has been called to discuss the rules of the national assembly and not the cabinet."
The main obstacle to completing the cabinet is finding the right Sunni candidates for ministerial positions, Shahrastani said.
"The alliance has always said it would like to include all components of Iraqi society in a government of national unity. What makes this project lengthy is not all of these groups are represented in the parliament," Shahrastani said.
"I was specifically referring to the Sunnis."
Up to six ministerial posts are still on the table for the Sunnis, Shahrastani said.
He said the UIA and Kurdish Alliance, the two largest blocs in the parliament elected more than 10 weeks ago, were still in negotiations with Sunni groups.
The UIA is in talks with the National Front, an umbrella association of political parties; Vice President Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar's Iraqiyun party and professional and community organisations, including the Sunni Muslim Waqf (religious endowment).
The deputy speaker denied that the UIA was talking with actual insurgent groups, from which it hopes to lure Sunni nationalists from the violent revolt waged since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime two years ago.
"The alliance refuses to talk or meet with any groups responsible for the violence against Iraqi civilians or security forces. We should not confuse that with general representatives of the Sunni community."
Both Jaafari and Iraq's new President Jalal Talabani have indicated they are mulling a new amnesty initiative for those involved in the resistance.
On Wednesday, Jaafari denied there were any direct talks with the resistance, but indicated they met people with channels to the insurgency.
"We have no meetings or talks with those who are carrying weapons. We reach out to Iraqi factions, even those who are in disagreement with us on the political process including those who boycotted the process and those who fought, the ones who went to elections and made explosions."
Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has told UIA members he thinks it should compromise on cabinet posts and focus more on drafting Iraq's constitution, a Shiite MP and confidante of Sistani said.
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