Shafaq News- Erbil

The Kurdish Ministry of Interior on Thursday renewed calls for a joint administration in Iraq’s Kirkuk province, as political tensions escalated over efforts to remove current Governor Rebwar Taha.

During a press conference, Kurdish Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed underlined that Kirkuk’s governance should reflect all communities and be aligned with electoral outcomes, calling for compliance with constitutional provisions, including Article 140 on disputed territories.

He also criticized the current provincial administration, describing its formation as the result of what he described as a “suspicious deal” at Baghdad’s Rashid Hotel, while rejecting efforts to rotate the governorship to Iraqi Turkmen Front leader Mohammed Samaan.

The dispute traces back to an August 10, 2024 session of the provincial council in Baghdad, where Taha was elected governor in a vote boycotted by several Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen members, leaving the administration contested from the outset. Tensions have since resurfaced amid reports of a previous power-sharing understanding under which Taha, a senior official in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), would step aside in favor of a Turkmen candidate. His office, however, maintains that he remains in post and has not submitted any resignation.

Earlier today, dozens of residents of Kirkuk, most of them Kurds, demonstrated in front of the provincial headquarters, rejecting calls for Taha’s removal. According to a Shafaq News correspondent, protesters carried banners and chanted slogans in support of the current administration, warning that any change at this stage could trigger political and security tensions in the ethnically diverse province.