BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi asked political blocs in parliament and "influential social figures" to nominate technocrats as candidates for ministerial positions in a new cabinet he plans to form, state TV reported on Friday.An independent committee of experts will then select names from those candidates for Abadi to choose his ministers from, al-Iraqia News channel said.
A year and a half into his four-year term, Abadi said last month that he wanted to replace his ministers with technocrats to tackle the system of patronage that encourages graft by distributing posts along political, ethnic and sectarian lines.
Corruption is eating away at Baghdad's resources even as it struggles with falling revenue due to rock-bottom oil prices and high spending due to the costs of the war against Islamic State.
In a speech on Wednesday, Abadi said that he would announce ministerial changes soon and that the cabinet would be made of "competent professionals" who reflect the nation’s ethnic and sectarian makeup.
Abadi's media office on Thursday said the prime minister has sent a document to the political parties that contains the criteria along which he will be choosing his ministers.