The Zaidi government: “Inclusion of all” met with ambiguity regarding the names of ministers and warnings from the Fayli community.
The Zaidi government: “Inclusion of all” met with ambiguity regarding the names of ministers and warnings from the Fayli community.
2026-05-07
Shafaq News – Baghdad
“Everyone will participate in the government,” a phrase repeated by the Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi during his recent meetings in Baghdad and Erbil, has become a prominent headline for a difficult political phase preceding the anticipated parliamentary session next week, which is expected to witness the vote on the first batch of the new cabinet.
As the expected date for the confidence vote session approaches, contacts intensified between Iraqi political forces amid a scene that has not yet been resolved, despite the parliament announcing that it will soon receive the government program in the coming hours, while political sources confirm that the division over names still exists at this moment.
No names yet
In this context, independent politician Abu Mithaq al-Masari says that the current scene reflects one of the most ambiguous phases of Iraqi government formation since 2006.
Al-Masari explained to Shafaq News Agency that “despite only 72 hours remaining until the expected date for the vote, the political blocs have not discussed any names of ministers with the prime minister-designate, and he has not put forward any specific nominations, nor has he even asked the blocs about their candidates or taken their initial opinion.”
Al-Masari also confirms that “the political blocs have not sent an official letter or even names verbally so far,” suggesting that the reason is due to the continuation of unannounced understandings between the political parties.
He points out that “the proposed cabinet may not differ much from the previous government, as many are talking about the possibility that it will consist of about 23 ministers without any fundamental changes in structure.”
He adds that “Al-Zaydi adopts a general listening approach without going into details about names or the system of rotating portfolios between components, as was the practice previously.”
He points out that this “is evident from his visit to the Kurdistan Region and his meetings there, and then the return of a Kurdish delegation to Baghdad, as part of an attempt to understand what is happening without making direct nominations.”
Discussion on “points”
In contrast, Azam Al-Hamdani, a member of the Al-Azm Alliance, asserts that the distribution of portfolios within the Sunni component is carried out according to what he described as the “electoral weight equation”.
Al-Hamdani told Shafaq News Agency, “The agreement within the Sunni bloc is based on calculating electoral points, as the Azm Alliance has 17 points, which correspond to two ministries in addition to the position of Deputy Prime Minister, after it gained an advantage over the presidency of Parliament.”
He adds that “Decisiveness and Sovereignty both have a similar weight of points (Sovereignty 9 and Decisiveness 8), while Determination is considered the strongest Sunni bloc in terms of representation,” indicating that “the number of Sunni ministries will remain 6 ministries for now, with an ambition to increase them, but this is the constant in the current understandings.”
Al-Hamdani confirms that “there is no change or rotation in the Sunni ministries so far, and everything remains fixed pending final decision.”
Warning against marginalization
For his part, Haider Abu Tara, a representative of the Faili Kurds, stresses the need to include the various components in the next government in a real and not merely formal way.
Abu Tara told Shafaq News Agency that “successive governments since 2003 have not been fair to the various components in the distribution of ministries,” adding that he met with the prime minister-designate, who assured him that “everyone will participate in the government without marginalization.”
He points out that “the Faili component is demanding a ministerial portfolio such as Immigration and Displacement, Culture, or Education, or even executive positions in institutions related to the file of martyrs and prisoners,” considering that “this entitlement is linked to the historical suffering of the component.”
Abu Tarah warns that “if the Faili Kurds are not treated fairly in the new formation, we will resort to the media and public opinion,” calling for “the government to be built on the basis of partnership, balance and genuine consensus.”
In addition to the Kurdish Faili component, the Christian parliamentary bloc “Suyana” affirmed on Wednesday that “the representation of the Christian component in the next government should be based on respecting the election results and ensuring genuine representation of the Iraqi components.”
The bloc’s representative, Kaldo Ramzi, added that “any serious path to forming a government must start from the principle of genuine national partnership and fair and equitable representation of all components of the Iraqi people, far from marginalization or circumventing electoral entitlements.”
Last Tuesday, the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, called on the influential political forces to grant Christians a ministerial portfolio in the next Iraqi government in order to promote a culture of acceptance of others in the country.
Open understandings
In parallel, political meetings continued between Baghdad and Erbil, where Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, and Prime Minister-designate Masrour Barzani met to discuss the formation of the government, the distribution of portfolios, oil issues, and financial coordination between the two sides.
Political sources indicate that the discussions also included sensitive issues such as oil exports, regional coordination, and even Iraq’s role in mediating between Iran and the United States, indicating a broadening of understandings beyond the traditional domestic framework.
According to the information circulating, the next government will consist of 22 ministerial portfolios distributed as follows: 12 ministries for the coordination framework, 6 ministries for the Sunni forces, and 4 ministries for the Kurdish parties.
This distribution reflects the continued application of the logic of consensual partnership, despite increasing criticism of this model by political parties who believe it perpetuates power-sharing instead of building state institutions.
shafaq.com
