New Kirkuk governor says government to prioritize infrastructure, reconciliation

Shafaq News/ Kirkuk's newly appointed governor, Rebwar Taha, on Tuesday said that his administration will focus on infrastructure development and fostering communal harmony in the oil-rich, ethnically diverse governorate.

In a statement following his official appointment by President Abdullatif Rashid at a ceremony in Baghdad, Taha pledged to work diligently towards rebuilding the region's infrastructure and improving the living conditions of Kirkuk's citizens "without discrimination".

"We will work tirelessly to strengthen coexistence among all the communities in Kirkuk and to cooperate with all political parties in a spirit of unity," Taha said. He also assured that the rights of the Turkmen community, a significant ethnic group in the governorate, would be fully respected "in our dear Kirkuk".

Taha's election on August 10 as governor and as head of the governorate council occurred amid controversy. The session in Baghdad, which saw his appointment, was boycotted by members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and several Arab lawmakers, who claimed that the meeting was illegitimate due to their exclusion from the process.

The KDP, along with the Arab Alliance and the Turkmen Front, denounced the session as unlawful since they were not formally invited to participate in the council’s deliberations.