Turkmen parliamentary bloc reaffirms rotation proposal to resolve Kirkuk administration crisis

Shafaq News/ On Monday, Arshad Al-Salihi, the head of the Turkmen parliamentary bloc, reiterated his support for the "rotation" proposal to address the ongoing crisis in forming Kirkuk's local administration amid ongoing discussions among political factions.

In a statement, Al-Salihi emphasized the Turkmen Front's "unified stance" amid the continuing dialogues among political factions in Kirkuk governorate, calling on all political blocs to "demonstrate their true number of members and their genuine vision for forming Kirkuk's Provincial Council and administration."

Al-Salihi stated, "Members of the Kirkuk Provincial Council from the Iraqi Turkmen Front have maintained their position since day one, but we doubt the vision of others." He continued, "We are committed to our proposal to form Kirkuk's administration based on the principle of rotation, allowing the three ethnic groups to hold the top positions in the government alternately."

He considered this proposal to be the "optimal" choice for achieving cooperation and fair representation of all components of Kirkuk.

For over eight months, the winning blocs in the Kirkuk Provincial Council elections have failed to reach a consensus on a joint proposal for forming the local government, with each bloc insisting on holding the governor position.

Despite Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani's involvement, including three meetings with Kirkuk's components, no agreement has been reached.

The idea of rotating the governor position among Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen blocs remains under discussion, with another meeting date yet to be determined by the Prime Minister after the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Kirkuk is among the most complex in Iraq, both at the federal and local levels, due to its inclusion under Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which previous governments have failed to resolve.

Kurds view Kirkuk as part of Kurdistan, while Turkmen assert its Turkmen identity and advocate for it to remain within the federal state to preserve its diverse identity. Arabs, on the other hand, consider Kirkuk to be inherently Iraqi, regardless of its ethnic, religious, and sectarian diversity.