CF to meet Al-Zaidi on weapons, cabinet and budget
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq’s Coordination Framework (CF), the country’s main alliance of Shiite political forces, will meet on Monday evening with Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi to discuss completing the cabinet, bringing weapons under state control, and the 2027 federal budget, an informed source told Shafaq News.
A parliamentary vote on the remaining ministerial appointments could take place by the end of this week or early next week, the source said.
Parliament approved Al-Zaidi’s government and 14 ministers on May 14 but postponed votes on nine portfolios amid political disagreements over their allocation. In September, a government source told Shafaq News that Al-Zaidi could submit the remaining nominees as a “single package” if political forces failed to agree on the candidates or distribution of ministries.
On weapons control, Baghdad had initially linked the process to the US-led Coalition mission’s September 30 end date. Al-Zaidi, however, outlined a phased approach on September 22, starting with a 90-day pause in faction attacks in exchange for US forces refraining from strikes, followed by weapons handovers scheduled for completion by June 30, 2027.
Read more: Kurdistan Region faces air-defense gap as US troops leave Iraq
Finance Minister Faleh Al-Sari will attend Monday’s meeting to discuss the 2027 draft budget and related financial, economic, and political issues, according to the source.
In September, Iraq’s Ministerial Council for the Economy approved the draft 2027 federal budget and referred it to the Council of Ministers. The country had adopted a three-year budget covering 2023–2025 under former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, but parliament did not approve the 2025 spending schedules before the fiscal year ended, while no federal budget law was passed for 2026.
