Parliament Speaker Muhammad Al-Halbousi, Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and elected ministers in the Iraqi Parliament. Photo: Iraqi News Agency
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi political factions within the governing State Administration Coalition have reached a preliminary agreement to reactivate the long-dormant positions of Vice President of the Republic, an informed political source revealed on Sunday, October 18, 2026.
Under the emerging cross-party consensus, the leadership posts are slated to be assigned to Taqaddum Party leader and former Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi alongside Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Chairman Falih Al-Fayyadh.
According to the source, the prospective appointments will mirror the financial compensation model adopted for deputy prime ministers, restricting allocations solely to nominal salary entitlements without authorizing supplementary office operational budgets or creating new civil service staff quotas.
The financial restraint is designed to forestall public criticism and prevent administrative expansion within executive payrolls while accommodating broad-based political power-sharing requirements across key coalition partners.
The source noted that restoring the two vice-presidential slots has featured prominently across bilateral consultations and plenary coalition assemblies as a stabilizing mechanism for the current parliamentary cycle.
The political maneuvering follows action taken by the Council of Representatives on Thursday, October 15, when lawmakers ratified three deputy prime ministers and filled eleven ministerial portfolios—including vacant and newly established ministries—within Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi’s cabinet, while deferring a vote on the Ministry of Migration and Displaced.