Iraq's New Government Sworn In Amid Parliamentary Brawl as Cabinet Remains Incomplete
Baghdad, May 14, 2026 — Iraq's parliament today granted confidence to a partial government led by businessman Ali Al Zaidi, ending more than six months of political deadlock following the November 2025 elections. Al Zaidi was sworn in with only a partial cabinet after lawmakers failed to reach a consensus on key postings, including interior and defence. The session was marked by sharp confrontations between blocs, with two of the prime minister's nominees rejected outright on the floor.
The vote produced a working government on paper but exposed the fragility of the coalition behind it. A government in Iraq wins a confidence vote when parliament approves half plus one of its ministries. Al Zaidi's government should include 23 ministers, but its lineup remains incomplete as key political parties continue to negotiate several portfolios. Parliament approved 14 ministers, while nine portfolios stayed empty. According to MP Muqdad al-Khafaji, who spoke to Reuters, "Parliament approved 14 ministries, while nine ministries remain pending. Three of them failed to win parliament's confidence today.
A Heated Session and Two Rejected Nominees
The proceedings did not unfold calmly. The session witnessed heated exchanges among lawmakers after some objected to the approval of the nominee for interior minister. The interior portfolio is the most politically loaded ministry inside the Shiite house, with the Badr Organization, led by Hadi Al Amiri, claiming it as its entitlement and other factions inside the Coordination Framework pushing back. The dispute spilled into open confrontation on the parliament floor and, combined with similar disagreements over defence, made it impossible to put either ministry to a successful vote today.
Two of the nominees that were submitted to parliament failed to clear the confidence threshold: Al Zaidi's nominees for ministers of planning and higher education were rejected, leaving him with posts to fill in nine ministries altogether, including interior, defence, culture, reconstruction, migration, labour and social affairs and youth, when the legislature convenes after the Eid Al Adha holidays at the end of the month.
The rejection of named nominees on the floor, rather than mere postponement, is a meaningful signal. It suggests that the bargaining between blocs is not just incomplete but is being actively contested inside the chamber, not only behind closed doors.
The Approved Cabinet: 14 Ministers and Their Affiliations
The 14 ministers who received parliamentary confidence today are as follows:
Foreign Affairs: Fuad Hussein — Kurdish politician, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). He retained the post he has held since 2020 and has also previously served as finance minister.
Justice: Khalid Shawani — Kurdish politician, member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), who kept his post.
Oil: Basim Mohammed — previously deputy oil minister in the cabinet of former prime minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani. He is associated with the Sudani-led Reconstruction and Development Coalition.
Finance: Faleh Al Sari — affiliated with the Coordination Framework's Shiite blocs.
Communications: Mustafa Jabbar Sanad — a controversial politician who was suspended from parliament earlier this year for slapping a fellow MP.
Industry and Minerals: Mohammed Nouri Ahmed — Sunni allocation.
Electricity: Ali Saad Wahib — Coordination Framework allocation, reportedly via the Virtue (Fadhila) Party.
Health: Abdulhussein Aziz — Coordination Framework allocation.
Environment: Sarwa Abdulwahid — the only woman on Al Zaidi's list of candidates. She worked as a journalist for several years and was a rights activist before becoming an MP the New Generation Movement. Kurdish.
Agriculture: Abdulrahim Jassim — Coordination Framework allocation.
Water Resources: Muthanna Ali Mahdi Al Tamimi — a member of the Iran-backed Badr Organisation.
Trade: Mustafa Nizar Jumaa — Coordination Framework allocation.
Education: Abdulkarim Abtan — Sunni allocation.
Transport: Wahab Salman Muhammad — Coordination Framework allocation.
The two ministerial nominees voted down were those proposed for Planning and Higher Education. According to Shafaq News, parliament denied confidence to the nominated candidates for the ministries of Planning, Culture, Reconstruction, Education, and Interior.
The cabinet's composition broadly reflects the muhasasa (quota) system in operation since 2003. Shiite parties associated with the Coordination Framework, the largest bloc with 162 of 329 seats, took the majority of approved portfolios. Sunni blocs received Industry and Education, while the Kurdish parties (KDP and PUK) retained Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Environment.
Two observations stand out. First, Fuad Hussein's retention as foreign minister provides continuity at one of the most exposed portfolios in a period of acute regional tension. Second, none of the approved ministers are publicly identified with Iran-backed armed factions, a deliberate outcome attributed to American pressure throughout the negotiations.
A Compromise Premier and a Disputed Mandate
Al Zaidi's path to the premiership was shaped by exhaustion rather than consensus. He emerged as a compromise candidate after Washington rejected the Coordination Framework's initial nomination of former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki and threatened to cut US assistance if a pro-Iran figure took office. The Coordination Framework, the dominant Shiite bloc in parliament, settled on Al Zaidi in late April after months of internal conflict, particularly between caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani and Maliki.
Al Zaidi, Iraq's youngest prime minister at the age of 40, was chosen to form the new government on April 27 after President Nizar Amedi named him prime minister-designate and tasked him with forming a government. Today's vote came nearly two weeks ahead of the 30-day constitutional deadline, but the partial nature of the cabinet reveals that the bargaining is far from over.
The absence of confirmed ministers for defence and interior is particularly consequential. These two portfolios sit at the centre of the most sensitive task before the new government: managing the future of Iran-backed armed factions operating outside formal state control.
The Militia Question and the Strategic Backdrop
The most consequential dimension of the new government's mandate is the disarmament of pro-Iran militias. Asaib Ahl Al Haq, which holds 29 of parliament's 329 seats, is reportedly considering laying down weapons, but its leaders want such a step framed as a national initiative endorsed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani. This conditional posture suggests the militias are open to negotiation but unwilling to be seen as surrendering to American demands. The reference to Sistani is strategic. By insisting on religious cover from Iraq's most senior Shiite cleric, the factions can preserve domestic legitimacy while changing course.
Washington has demanded "concrete action" against these groups, which it says carried out 600 attacks since the conflict with Iran began. The Trump administration has paired this pressure with carrots and sticks: President Donald Trump publicly backed Al Zaidi's nomination and invited him to Washington once the government is formed, while previously suspending Iraq's access to dollar reserves held at the New York Federal Reserve.
Tehran is pushing in the opposite direction. Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani made an unannounced visit to Baghdad this week, urging Shiite factions not to concede to pressure to disarm or tilt towards Washington.
An Economy in Crisis
The economic backdrop is arguably more dangerous than the security one. Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, imposed after US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has cut Iraq's crude exports from 3.5 million barrels per day to roughly 300,000. The Iraqi state, which depends on oil revenue for the overwhelming majority of its budget, has lost more than 90 percent of its main income stream in a matter of months.
The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline through Turkey reopened in March 2026 after US mediation, but it cannot absorb the volumes lost at Hormuz. Iraq has been compensating by drawing down foreign reserves and increasing borrowing, a strategy with a finite horizon.
Al Zaidi's government programme, titled "A Stable State, A Productive Economy, Balanced Partnerships," promises measurable targets on energy, economic reform, and national security. But funding those commitments will depend on diplomatic progress to reopen export routes and ensure the stable flow of oil revenue held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In practical terms, Iraq's economic recovery is tied to outcomes in Washington and the Gulf, not in Baghdad.
Outlook
Today's vote was both a breakthrough and a warning. Al Zaidi crossed the constitutional threshold to govern, but the rejection of two of his nominees and the heated confrontation on the floor suggest that the coalition behind him is held together by tactical compromise rather than strategic agreement. The most sensitive portfolios remain hostage to the very disputes the prime minister was meant to resolve.
Three tests will define the months ahead. The first is completion. Iraq has had partial cabinets before, and they have tended to weaken the prime minister's authority. Al Zaidi needs to fill the remaining nine posts after the Eid Al Adha holidays, particularly defence and interior, before the political momentum from today's vote dissipates.
The second is the militia file. Visible progress on disarmament would unlock financial relief from Washington but risks confrontation with armed factions that have demonstrated both the capacity and the willingness to use force domestically. Sistani's role, if he agrees to provide religious cover, will be decisive.
The third is the economy. Even with diplomatic success on oil exports, Iraq faces a long recovery and structural reforms that previous governments postponed. Al Zaidi's business background gives him technical credibility on economic management, but credibility is not the same as political room to manoeuvre.
For now, Iraq has a prime minister and most of a government. Whether it has a functioning state capable of withstanding the pressures bearing down on it from Tehran, Washington, and its own internal contradictions is a question that will be answered over the months ahead, not today.
