Kirkuk Council members announce boycott of upcoming meeting

Shafaq News/ On Thursday, the Arab bloc, the Turkmen bloc, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the Kirkuk Provincial Council announced their decision to boycott a meeting scheduled for next week.

Raad Saleh, a member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council, told Shafaq News, "The Arab group will boycott the meeting, as this meeting contradicts the ongoing dialogues among the political parties elected to the council."

Saleh questioned, "If the PUK and Babylon had a majority in the Kirkuk Council, why have they not formed the local government?" confirming that, along with the Turkmen bloc and the KDP, the Arab bloc will not attend the meeting, as political negotiations among the parties are still ongoing.

Earlier, Babylon and Kirkuk's Strength and Will Alliance blocs decided to postpone the Kirkuk Provincial Council's second session scheduled for today until early next week in response to a request from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

Today, a source in Kirkuk revealed a "surprising" split within the Arab bloc, leading to a new agreement with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to form a larger bloc for local governance and share key positions, including that of the governor and the council presidency.

The source told Shafaq News Agency that "the sudden political split in the Arab bloc saw three (out of 6) members align with the PUK to form a bloc with the largest number of seats." According to the initial agreement, a PUK candidate will assume the governorship, while one of the defected Arab bloc members will take on the role of the council president.

The Kirkuk Provincial Council held its first session on July 11, chaired by Rakan Saeed al-Jubouri, who was relieved of his governorship due to reaching retirement age but retained his role as council president by virtue of being the oldest council member.

Despite the participation of 16 members in the session—including five from the PUK, two from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), six from the Arab bloc representing Sovereignty (Al-Siyada), Leadership (Al-Kiyada), and the Arab Coalition, two from the Turkmen Front, and one Christian representative—the session did not resolve the positions of the council president and the governor, leaving these positions pending further political negotiations.