Iraq’s Parliament Set to Vote on Completing Cabinet Lineup on Thursday

Iraq’s Council of Representatives is preparing to hold a session on Thursday afternoon to vote on completing Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s cabinet, amid ongoing political negotiations over the remaining ministerial portfolios and the selection of nominees.

Thair al-Kaabi, a lawmaker from the Nahj al-Watani bloc, said nine ministerial positions remain vacant. He explained that separating the Ministry of Culture from the Ministry of Tourism, along with the addition of the Ministries of Artificial Intelligence and State Affairs, has increased the number of portfolios covered by political negotiations to 12.

Al-Kaabi added that the current political agreement covers nominees for 10 of the 12 ministries, while candidates for the culture and state affairs portfolios have yet to be finalized. He noted that the Ministry of State Affairs has been allocated to the Turkmen component.

He also said political parties have reached an understanding on nominating individuals for the positions of deputy prime ministers, but no similar agreement has been reached regarding the vice presidents of the republic.

Separately, a well-informed political source said leaders of the Coordination Framework, the prime minister and other political blocs agreed during a meeting on Monday evening to hold a parliamentary session on Thursday to vote on completing the cabinet. The agreement also includes a proposal to appoint four deputies to the prime minister.