Zaidi has confirmed that no cabinet session will take place on Saturday to vote on the draft federal budget law for 2027, contradicting earlier reports about a planned extraordinary meeting.
A government source separately revealed that disagreements over several provisions concerning the Kurdistan Region's budget remain unresolved, preventing the completion of the necessary arrangements.
Last Tuesday, government sources had indicated that the Council of Ministers was expected to convene an extraordinary meeting chaired by al-Zaidi on Saturday to consider and vote on next year's budget proposal.
The Federal Ministry of Finance had previously forwarded the draft legislation to the Ministerial Council for the Economy on September 27, after completing its preparation. The council subsequently approved the proposal and referred it to the Council of Ministers.
On October 4, the parliamentary Finance Committee decided to host Finance Minister Faleh Sari to discuss spending priorities and the timetable for submitting the draft budget to parliament. The committee also voiced its dissatisfaction over not having been consulted or provided with the draft legislation and its provisions beforehand.
The latest developments come against the backdrop of continued delays in Iraq's budget process. The 2025 budget schedules were not approved, while no budget law was enacted for 2026. As a result, government expenditure throughout both years has remained subject to the temporary one-twelfth spending rule under the Financial Management Law.
