Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s cabinet will vote on the draft 2027 federal budget in September, with the projected deficit capped at 3%, government spokesperson Haider Al-Aboudi announced on Monday.

At a press conference, Al-Aboudi said the Finance Ministry is finalizing the bill in line with the Federal Financial Management Law. The program-based budget will include electricity initiatives and development projects in Saladin and Al-Diwaniyah provinces, as well as provisions concerning contract employees.

The previous government, led by Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, enacted a three-year budget covering 2023–2025, but the final-year spending plan was not implemented after parliament failed to approve amended expenditure schedules before the law expired. The Finance Ministry instead relied on the one-twelfth (1/12) mechanism to cover salaries and mandatory spending. Iraq also entered 2026 without a budget amid delays in forming a new government, the economic fallout from the regional war, and volatile energy markets, prolonging reliance on temporary spending arrangements.

Read more: 2026 budget: Iraq confronts unprecedented fiscal strain