Iraq's parliament has expressed a vote of confidence in the new cabinet, breaking a year-long political stalemate. It is the first government since 2005 that does not include members of the bloc of an influential Shiite cleric.

A majority of the 253 deputies present voted to appoint 21 ministers, with two positions, the Ministry of Construction and Housing and the Ministry of the Environment, still vacant.

The cabinet headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani did not include representatives of the bloc of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr for the first time since 2005.

Iraq held early elections more than a year ago in response to massive anti-government protests that began in Baghdad and southern Iraq in October 2019. Protesters called for an overhaul of the political system created after the U.S. invasion in 2003, the AP reports.

After elections that gave the al-Sadr-led alliance a majority, the political struggle delayed the formation of a government for more than a year. Much of this was due to the political rivalry between al-Sadr and former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.