ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s new prime minister is breaking the mold, opening the doors to the public to put their name forward for a cabinet position.

Prime Minister-designate Adil Abdul-Mahdi set up a website, inviting Iraqi men and women who meet the constitutionally-defined requirements to apply for the cabinet. The window for applications is open for three days, closing 4pm on October 11.

Applications are open to anyone who has the practical experience and competence is welcome to nominate him/herself for a cabinet position, according to a statement from Abdul-Mahdi’s office. Candidates must fill in an online form and submit their curriculum vitae.

Cabinet ministers must be Iraqi citizens with a college degree or equivalent, under terms of the constitution.

Candidates must also identify their political affiliation, if any, and submit a short statement on leadership and practical solutions to resolve problems facing the ministry they hope to head up, according to AFP.

Thousands of people have responded to the website, according to a statement from Abdul-Mahdi’s office late Tuesday afternoon.

He said they are carefully screening candidates and building a database that will be useful for forming the government and for future business.

He defended himself against criticism that the website was de-politicizing the important Cabinet of Ministers.

The government cannot succeed without the support of political forces or the support of the people, he stated.

Adding that, today in Iraq, “there is a gap between the public and the political forces. This is an exceptional and unnatural situation that requires solutions to minimize its damage,” he said, stressing the importance of inviting “competent independents” to participate in running the country and “preventing the monopoly of power” in the hands of any one party or group.

Abdul-Mahdi, who was named prime minister-designate in the first action taken by President Barham Salih on October 2, has 30 days to build a cabinet that will then be put to the parliament for approval.

If Abdul-Mahdi fails to form a cabinet that is approved by parliament, the president will then task a second nominee to try.

Abdul-Mahdi has met with party leaders and the speaker of parliament, discussing possible people to take ministerial positions. In a first for the new Iraq, he has been given a free hand to pick candidates away from party influence, though he has requested parties to submit nominations for possible minsters.

He is under pressure to select technocrats over party loyalists. Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has urged Abdul-Mahdi to keep a grip on key security posts, assigning them to independents.

Iraq’s governments after the fall of Saddam Hussein have been a delicate balance of power shared among the country’s three main groups – Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. This has created a patronage network that contributed to rampant corruption.

Rudaw