The government’s measures to reduce the number of advisors and streamline spending are an important step towards supporting public financial management.

The government’s measures to reduce the number of advisors and streamline spending are an important step towards supporting public financial management.

10-16-2026

As part of efforts to rationalize spending and enhance the efficiency of public finance management, Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi affirmed that “the Deputy Prime Ministers will perform their duties without salaries or financial allowances,” noting that “their appointment will not require new appointments, but rather they will be assigned through nomination from the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers or the ministries, as needed.”

Al-Zaydi also explained that “based on the provisions of Article (76) of the Iraqi Constitution of 2005, the Deputy Prime Ministers were voted on, with the emphasis that they would not receive any salaries or allowances, in accordance with what was agreed upon with the Speaker of Parliament and the members of the Council.”

He added that “the Deputy Prime Ministers will perform their duties in the field, each according to his specialization and based on his directives,” explaining that “the Deputy Prime Minister for Services Affairs will be tasked with following up on the needs of cities and regions, while the official in charge of the energy file will be directed to work when crises occur, as well as the official in charge of the economic file, in light of the economic challenges facing the country.”

Al-Zaydi also pointed out that “the government is also moving towards reducing the number of advisors, in light of the large number of them,” noting that the need for a number of advisors will disappear once the deputy prime ministers begin their duties, in line with the requirements of government work and the specializations of each of them.

The House of Representatives, in the presence of Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi and Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan, voted to elect Mohsen Ali Akbar al-Mandalawi, Laith Hadi Sayed al-Khazali, and Mohammed Ali Tamim as Deputy Prime Ministers.

In this regard, political analyst Nabil Al-Azzawi told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “The Prime Minister’s directive not to allocate expenses to his deputies falls within the efforts to rationalize spending and reduce the depletion of public funds.”

He added that “Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi’s directives regarding reducing the number of advisors and rationalizing expenditures represent a move towards adopting realistic economic readings, in light of the global economic crisis and its repercussions on Iraq,” noting that “the directive includes reducing the number of advisors and setting a clear vision for regulating expenditures, in line with the requirements of the current stage, which requires realistic economic decisions away from political favors, and this in turn represents part of the state’s vision to strengthen economic management.”

He explained that “the current stage requires the presence of advisors who possess real experience and realistic visions that contribute to addressing the challenges, far from consultations based on appeasement,” noting “the need for political blocs to adopt a common vision that supports economic reforms, whether from the position of opposition or support, in order to allow the political process to pass with the least possible losses, and to address the accumulated economic problems.”

He added that “these steps aim to address the imbalances that have affected the performance of the political process and have been reflected in the economic reality,” stressing that “the move towards rationalizing expenditures enjoys, in his estimation, the support and prior approval of the political blocs.”

For his part, security expert Mukhlid Hazem explained to the official agency that “the creation of deputy prime minister positions reflects a political vision aimed at accommodating the entitlements of blocs and parties, and ensuring the continued support of the government in facing economic and security challenges.”

He added that “the creation of these positions represents an important vision through which Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi seeks to deal with it in a way that does not impose additional financial burdens on the general budget.”

He added that “the government faces major challenges, foremost among them the economic file and the file of restricting weapons to the state, and therefore the Prime Minister seeks to involve the various political blocs in bearing responsibility for these files, and avoiding any obstacles that may affect the work of the government.”

Regarding reducing the number of advisors, Hazem pointed out that “determining the need for them falls within the powers of the Prime Minister and his vision of the nature of government work,” explaining that “the presence of ineffective advisors may constitute a burden on the Cabinet, whether in terms of financial or human resources.”

He pointed out that “the government is heading towards a more difficult stage that requires addressing economic and security issues, especially restricting weapons to the state, in conjunction with completing the government formation and settling political entitlements.”

Legal researcher Ali Al-Tamimi confirmed that “the position of Deputy Prime Ministers is based on the internal regulations of the Council of Ministers No. (2) of 2019,” explaining that “the fact that the position is not explicitly mentioned in the constitution does not mean that it is illegitimate.”

Al-Tamimi said that “the internal regulations of the Council of Ministers No. (2) of 2019 dealt with the position of the Deputy Prime Ministers, and defined their competencies, especially managing the meetings of specialized ministerial councils, such as the councils concerned with the economy, energy and social services, under the chairmanship or delegation from the Prime Minister.”

He stated that “Articles (22) and (23) of the internal regulations specified the mechanisms for organizing the offices of the deputies, providing advisors and employees, and covering the necessary financial expenses for the offices of the deputies from the budget of the office of the Prime Minister.”

Al-Tamimi pointed out that “the internal regulations did not specify a fixed number of deputy prime ministers, but rather left that to be determined according to the requirements of government work, whether the deputy holds a ministerial portfolio or not.”

He explained that “the position of Deputy Prime Minister is not an original constitutional position whose name is explicitly mentioned in the constitution, but it is an organizational position based on the internal regulations of the Council of Ministers, and its existence does not conflict with the constitution, according to the provisions referred to.”

Economic expert Ahmed Saddam also confirmed that “reducing the number of advisors and eliminating unnecessary job privileges would alleviate current government spending,” noting “the importance of calculating the actual annual costs associated with these positions.”

He explained that “reducing the number of advisors and eliminating unnecessary job privileges can alleviate current government spending, especially if it includes salaries, allowances, protections, offices, cars and administrative expenses associated with these positions.”

He added that “the size of the financial savings is not measured by the number of people excluded alone, but by the total of their actual annual costs.”

He explained that “the Prime Minister, through this step, seeks to convey a message that governmental responsibility is a duty and not a means to obtain additional privileges,” indicating that “this message is gaining importance in light of the financial pressures and the urgent need to improve the management of public funds.”

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