Iraq's parliament is expected to hold a final vote on a cabinet put forward by Prime Minister-designate Ibrahim al-Jafari.
After nearly three months of protracted political haggling, the vote is expected to come on Wednesday, a senior member of the ruling alliance said.
"Parliament will be asked to vote today, and if the list is approved the government will start work tomorrow," said Jawad al-Maliki, number two in al-Jafari's Dawa Party.
Officials said late on Tuesday that al-Jafari had presented his government lineup to President Jalal Talabani.
But he did not make the names public because of last-minute disagreements over some appointments, al-Maliki said.
"There are still problems in deciding who will hold the oil and interior ministries," he said on Tuesday.
There was no immediate word on whether all differences had been resolved.
Possible cabinet makeup
However, Iraqi media sources said the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) would get three cabinet posts. The Kurds would get nine portfolios, including the Foreign Ministry, and Sunni Arabs would get seven portfolios, including the Defence Ministry.
The Christian and Turkmen minorities were expected to get one ministry each.
Iraqi media sources said that Sadun al-Dulaymi, a Sunni, would be named defence minister.
In an effort to spread power among the nation's ethnic groups, al-Jafari will choose three deputy premiers: Roj Nuri Shaways, a Kurd, former Pentagon favourite Ahmad Chalabi and Sunni legislator Saad al-Lahabi.
Several ministers would remain at their posts, including Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zibari, a Kurd, and Minister of Public Works Mustafa Barwari.
Iraqi media said Sami al-Majun would become minister of justice and Ali Abdul Amir Allawi would be minister of finance.
Supporters of outgoing Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a secular pro-Western Shia, were not expected to participate in the new government after al-Jafari rejected their terms.
Drive-by shooting
On Wednesday, an Iraqi general was seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting while leaving his Baghdad home, an Interior Ministry official said.
Two of the general's guards were killed and a passing civilian was injured.
General Jihad Luaibi, a police anti-corruption inspector-general, was transferred to a US-run hospital after armed men in two cars opened fire outside his home in a western district of the capital
PHOTO CAPTION
The body of Saleh Ibrahim, a cameraman working for the news agency AP, is lowered into a grave at a cemetery in Mosul, northern Iraq, April 24, 2005. ( REUTERS)