Iraq's newly approved transitional cabinet was formally sworn in on Tuesday, after three months of haggling over the allocation of governmental posts following the Jan. 30 landmark parliamentary elections. (Photo: Xinhua)

(Photo: Xinhua)

(Photo: Xinhua)

    BAGHDAD, May 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraq's newly approved transitional cabinet was formally sworn in on Tuesday, after three months of haggling over the allocation of governmental posts following the Jan. 30 landmark parliamentary elections.  

    The first to take oath of office was Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the new prime minister, followed by 27 members of cabinet who walked one by one to a podium to take the oath.

    "I swear by the Almighty God to accomplish my missions and responsibilities sincerely and to preserve the independence and sovereignty of Iraq and to take care of my people's interests and on the safety of its land, skies, water and fortunes and to apply all the laws decently and neutrally, and God is witness upon what Isay," swore Jaafari.

    Most of the other ministers said the same oath, except for two Kurdish ministers who added "... and to preserve the federal system."

    Rowsch Shaways, a Kurd, and Ahmed Chalabi, a Shiite secular, became the deputy prime ministers.

    Jalal Talabani, the new Iraqi president, and Hashim al-Hassani, the parliamentary speaker, congratulated the new officials.

    "We call on you (the ministers) to work positively and exert every efforts to cooperate with the National Assembly (parliament) to serve our country," said Hassani.

    The widely hailed swearing in ceremony was held in the US-protected Green Zone in central Baghdad, where an explosion was heard ahead of the conference.

    The new administration will take the authority from the interim government led by Iyad Allawi and govern Iraq until the end of this year.

    A partial list of the 36-member cabinet was approved by the parliament last Thursday, leaving two of the four vice premiership vacant and five ministerial posts temporarily filled.

    The concerned parties failed to decide the seven posts on Tuesday despite their last-minute effort to fill them, including those of two deputy premiers and the ministers of defense, oil, electricity, industry and human rights.  

    Jaafari takes care of the portfolio of defense ministry, Shaways becomes the acting minister of electricity, whereas Chalabi has the oil ministry temporarily.

    It was said Shiite Arab Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum was suggested to take the job of the oil minister, but his name was not read out on Tuesday.

    Debates also concentrated on the post of defense minister, which a Sunni parliament member had said could go to Lt. Gen. Ahmed al-Raykan al-Shameri, a Sunni intelligence officer of the former Iraqi army.

    The proposal, said to have been accepted by Jaafari, was finally rejected by the Kurdish alliance hours before the swearing in ceremony.

    To make things more complicate, two Sunni Arabs appointed as the women affairs minister and the state minister for provincial affairs were absent from the ceremony, as a number of other Sunnis including the deputy president Ghazi Yawar did not show up either.

    "We waited for him (Yawar) for more than one hour but he didn't come at last," said Jaafari. The low-key stance reflected how deep the differences remained between the factions within the parliament.

    In his first speech after being sworn in, Jaafari said he would attribute himself to the task of restoring security so that the US-led multinational troops shall withdraw from Iraq.

    "We will work hard with our hands to deal with our problems and this is a good chance for all factions of Iraq."

    Denouncing the terrorism, he called on the educated to "reconstruct culture instead of demolish it...to advocate love instead of hatred."

    Jaafari said the protracted process of drafting the cabinet makeup was "logical", blaming the delay on the competing ethnic and religious factions, whose demands were difficult to balance.

    Critics believed the failure of forming the new government in time has emboldened the insurgents, who mounted relentless car bombings and assassination attempts on government targets in the wake of the elections. Enditem