Shafaq News – Nineveh

The Nineveh Provincial Council is set to discuss on Thursday the long-vacant post of Mosul district mayor, which has remained unfilled for more than a year.

The council has long faced disputes over administrative appointments, including the Mosul mayor post, with political blocs failing to reach an agreement for more than two years.

Council members told Shafaq News that tensions over the Mosul mayor post have peaked between the United Nineveh Bloc—particularly the Sovereignty Alliance (Al-Siyada) and the National Resolve Alliance (Al-Hasm)—as both sides seek to secure the position for their respective candidates.

The dispute intensified after council member Somaya Ghanem al-Khabouri asserted on Wednesday that the Mosul mayoral post “belongs to the Sovereignty Alliance,” accusing leaders within the Resolve Alliance of attempting to claim it despite a formal commitment that the position would be allocated to a local candidate representing Sovereignty.

In a statement, the Sovereignty Bloc in Nineveh Province officially nominated Deputy Director of Mosul Municipality, Mohammed al-Agha, for the position of district mayor.

The bloc said that al-Agha was selected as an independent nominee “in recognition of his competence and standing, and out of belief that the post exists to serve society, not political entities.” It further affirmed its support for “any resolution that serves the interests of Mosul’s citizens and strengthens professional local governance away from political and partisan quotas.”