2026-05-04T11:03:12+00:00
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Shafaq News-
Baghdad
Prime
Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi has informed leaders of the Coordination
Framework of his intention to present his ministerial cabinet on May 9, with
parliament scheduled to hold a confidence vote the following week, according to
a member of the parliamentary Services Bloc (Khadamat).
“Al-Zaidi
has the constitutional time required to finalize his government lineup and
submit it to the Council of Representatives within the designated period,”
MP Mohammed al-Shammari told Shafaq News on Monday. Intensive political efforts
are underway, he added, to resolve all remaining ministerial appointments
before the confidence session.
Cabinet
portfolio allocation remains incomplete, with negotiations still active across
political blocs. The incoming government, according to the source, is set to comprise 22 ministries,
distributed as follows: 12 for the Shiite Coordination Framework factions, six
for Sunni blocs, and four for Kurdish parties.
On the Sunni
side, the Ministry of Higher Education is set to go to the Taqaddum Party —led
by Mohammed al-Halbousi, who holds 27 parliamentary seats— while the Defense
Ministry is slated for the al-Azm Alliance, led by Muthanna al-Samarrai, which
holds 15 seats, according to a political source who spoke to Shafaq News
earlier this week.
Al-Zaidi is
expected to meet with Sunni leaders, including al-Halbousi, whose party has
raised the ceiling of its cabinet demands, a development, the source revealed, that has generated
friction in political backchannels as Sunni portfolio negotiations enter direct
bargaining, the sources said.
Kurdish
demands in the talks center on portfolio weight, not just portfolio count. The
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which secured 26 seats, is pushing to retain
the foreign affairs and construction and housing ministries, seeking
representation commensurate with its electoral standing and a broader role
across executive institutions.
Read more: Ali al-Zaidi named Iraq’s prime minister: Easy nomination, harder road ahead