Al‑Zaidi requests Oct. 15 parliamentary session to complete lineup with unpaid deputies
Prime Minister Ali Falih Al‑Zaidi submitted a request for a parliamentary session on Oct. 15 to complete the cabinet lineup and vote on nominees for deputy prime minister posts and vacant ministries, with the proposed deputies to serve without pay.
Prime Minister Ali Falih Al‑Zaidi on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, submitted an official request to the Presidency of the Council of Representatives asking to hold a session on Thursday, 15 October to vote on nominees for the posts of deputy prime ministers and for vacant and newly created ministries, citing Article 76, paragraph four of the 2005 Constitution.
A document issued by the prime minister’s office stated that the four proposed deputy prime ministers will work without salaries or financial allowances, and without any new appointments to their offices, as a measure intended to avoid additional burdens on the public treasury.
Initial political understandings among the forces participating in the government point to a preliminary agreement to create ministries of Artificial Intelligence and Tourism, in addition to filling the portfolios that were not granted confidence during the government confidence vote in May, when the government program and 14 ministers out of 23 were approved.
Political sources circulated names of candidates for portfolios including Interior, Defense, Higher Education, Labor, Youth, Planning, Culture and Reconstruction, alongside candidates for the two proposed ministries, noting that the list has not yet been formally submitted to Parliament and may undergo changes before the day of the vote.
Al‑Zaidi’s request comes after months of stalemate in completing the lineup, amid negotiations within the Coordination Framework and with Sunni and Kurdish forces over the distribution of portfolios and the format of the deputy prime ministers. Thursday is seen as a test of the blocs’ ability to turn these understandings into a public vote that would close the cabinet file open since May.
The Presidency of the Council of Representatives is expected to set the agenda for Thursday’s session after receiving the official document, and the vote could open the way to ending one of the longest government‑formation files this year; any delay in finalizing the nominees could lead to postponing the session or shortening its agenda.
Observers say the clause stipulating that the proposed deputies work without salaries is aimed at soothing public concern over the cost of new posts, but the outcome remains linked to the blocs’ agreement on the final names before entering the chamber.
