PM-designate Al-Zaidi to submit incomplete cabinet amid deputy bargaining
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq’s next government is likely to be presented incomplete, as political forces intensify negotiations to appoint multiple deputies for Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi in a bid to maintain factional “balance,” political sources revealed to Shafaq News on Monday.
A source within the Coordination Framework (CF) —a coalition of mainly Shiite political parties that forms the largest bloc in parliament— said talks between party leaders and the bloc’s technical and political committees have escalated to select three to four deputy prime ministers, with some positions intended as “consolatory” arrangements to satisfy competing factions.
Key contenders include Mohsen al-Mandalawi, backed by the State of Law Coalition led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Sunni leader Muthanna al-Samarrai of the Al-Azm Alliance, and caretaker Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), noting that a fourth candidate remains under discussion.
Meanwhile, a source from the National Political Council, a Sunni umbrella bloc formed after the 2025 parliamentary elections, confirmed that most blocs have submitted nominees for ministerial and independent posts, with al-Zaidi’s team, alongside the Framework’s technical committee, reviewing and assessing candidates.
Despite this progress, political disagreements persist —both within individual blocs and between rival factions— particularly over key sovereign and service ministries, raising the likelihood that al-Zaidi will submit a cabinet exceeding half of the lineup but short of a full formation.
Parliament is expected to hold a confidence vote next week, with al-Zaidi set to present his cabinet and government program by the end of this week.
The Coordination Framework granted al-Zaidi broader authority to shape his cabinet following his nomination on April 27, while negotiations continue under a points-based system that allocates ministries according to parliamentary weight. Service ministries typically require at least 10 seats, while sovereign portfolios require more than 15.
Cabinet formation in Iraq is traditionally governed by the muhasasa system, a post-2003 power-sharing arrangement that distributes positions among the country’s main political and ethnic blocs.
Read more: Ali al-Zaidi named Iraq's prime minister: Easy nomination, harder road ahead
