Shafaq News- Baghdad
Political disagreements have postponed the Iraqi cabinet’s vote on the draft 2027 federal budget until at least Saturday, parliamentary Finance Committee member Nasser Turki told Shafaq News on Tuesday.
Disputes between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) were nearing resolution, according to Turki, who said a vote is now expected on Saturday, November 14, or the following Tuesday, November 17, before the draft is sent to parliament. A separate government source told Shafaq News that disputes over provisions concerning the Kurdistan Region’s budget remained unresolved.
The prime minister’s office previously confirmed that no cabinet session was held on November 7 to consider the proposal.
The Finance Ministry submitted the draft to the Ministerial Council for the Economy on September 27. The council endorsed it and referred it to the cabinet, while parliament’s Finance Committee later summoned Finance Minister Faleh Sari to discuss spending priorities and the legislative timetable.
Iraq has operated without a fully approved federal budget for two years. Although parliament passed a three-year budget law covering 2023–2025, it did not approve the 2025 spending schedules, and no budget was enacted for 2026. The government has instead relied on the one-twelfth spending mechanism under the Financial Management Law to cover salaries and essential expenses.