ISLAMABAD, March 22: Makhdoom Yusuf Raza Gilani is expected to take oath as the country’s new prime minister next week. But the differences which have cropped up between the parties making up the incoming coalition government may mean that he will take oath of office without his cabinet members, according to sources.

President Pervez Musharraf will administer the oath of office to the new prime minister on Tuesday. PPP information secretary Sherry Rehman confirmed that there was a possibility that ministers would not take the oath with the prime minister.

“It has not yet been decided that the cabinet will take oath with Mr Gilani,” said Ms Rehman, who is a member of the special committee of the coalition parties which has been discussing the issue of the cabinet positions for the past three weeks.

The sources said there was a consensus among the coalition parties over the formula for their representation in the federal cabinet and parliamentary standing committees, but there were still differences on the allocation of some ‘strategic portfolios’ like interior, defence, finance and foreign affairs.

Under the agreed formula, all the coalition partners will get representation in the cabinet in proportion to their seats in the National Assembly and the Senate.

A source said that in one of the meetings, the PPP and the PML-N members agreed to hold a draw on the important portfolios.

As a result of the draw, the ministries of information, foreign affairs and commerce went to the PML-N whereas the PPP got the portfolios of interior, finance and industries.The source said the PPP was not willing to accept the ministry of finance due to the poor state of the economy and later tried to convince the PML-N to keep the finance ministry with it in exchange of information or foreign affairs ministries.

However, the PML-N is now reluctant to withdraw from its claim on the two strategic ministries and this situation has created a deadlock.

The sources said the PPP initially wanted that the formula should only be finalised in accordance with the representation in the National Assembly, but on the demand of other coalition partners — the ANP, PML-N and the JUI-F — it later agreed to consider the parties’ strength in the Senate as well.Moreover, the sources said, the PPP desired to keep the strength of the cabinet small, but there was pressure on the party from the other coalition partners to go for a large cabinet.

If the PPP agrees to the present formula, which is being discussed in the committee of the coalition partners, then there will initially be a 20-member cabinet which will later be expanded to 60 or 70 members to equal the much-criticised team of former prime minister Shaukat Aziz.