Baghdad: The Prime Minister’s Financial Adviser, Mudhhir Mohammed Saleh, confirmed on Thursday that government spending is continuing under the ‘1/12 rule’ until the approval of the 2026 federal budget law, noting that monthly salaries for employees, retirees, and social welfare beneficiaries amount to approximately 8 trillion Iraqi dinars.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Saleh explained that fiscal policy has been implemented since the second month of 2026 in accordance with the amended Federal Financial Management Law No. (6) of 2019, through spending equivalent to one-twelfth of the actual current expenditures of 2025. He highlighted that public finance is benefiting from Article (29) of the law, allowing the financial authority to adopt temporary financing mechanisms and manage liquidity in cases where spending under a duly enacted budget is not possible.

He further stated that these provisions enshrine the principle of temporary financing in the event of delays in passing the budget law or temporary liquidity shortages. This enables the Ministry of Finance to take transitional measures to ensure the uninterrupted payment of priority expenditures, most notably salaries, wages, pensions, and social welfare allocations, which are estimated at around 8 trillion dinars per month.

Saleh also addressed the possibility of legislating the budget law in the event of delays in electing a President of the Republic. He described this scenario as rare but acknowledged that it might arise due to the requirements of the supreme national interest. He emphasized that the Council of Representatives is the constitutionally mandated body to enact the budget law, adding that the matter may require seeking the opinion of the Federal Supreme Court, as the competent constitutional authority to resolve issues related to parliamentary sessions, particularly in cases of a complete absence of the President.

He concluded by noting that President Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani remain in their legal capacities to date. This, in principle, allows for the preparation of a draft federal budget law and its submission to the Council of Representatives to initiate the legislative process, should the elected legislature decide to do so.