Kirkuk political factions announce agreement on local government formation

Shafaq News/ On Monday, the political factions in Kirkuk revealed that they reached a deal to hold a new session for the government's council.

The head of the Turkmen parliamentary bloc, Arshad al-Salihi, said the agreement followed mediation efforts by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani.

"The agreement paves the way for a meeting of the Kirkuk Provincial Council to be held shortly after the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday, expected in early July." He said.

"The political forces in Kirkuk now acknowledge the gravity of the situation and the need to resolve the current political impasse; therefore, the council must convene as soon as possible to initiate the process of forming a new local government."

Al-Salihi also highlighted a potential solution gaining traction among the winning factions: "rotating top positions within the provincial government to reflect Kirkuk's demographic makeup."

"This proposal, if implemented, could ensure representation for all ethnic groups in Kirkuk, a crucial step towards establishing a local government capable of effectively addressing security service provision and promoting peaceful coexistence."

Earlier this month, The deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Shakhwan Abdullah, predicted that the Kirkuk Governorate Council will hold a session soon to elect a new governor and form a local government.

"We are very close to holding a council meeting and electing a legitimate governor who represents all the components of the governorate, along with a council chairman," Abdullah said in a statement to reporters in Kirkuk.

He added that "the other positions will be decided and distributed within a period of a maximum of two to three months."

Recently, Mohammed Kamal, a leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Kirkuk, revealed recommendations sent by Prime Minister al-Sudani that the Kirkuk Council hold a meeting after the Eid al-Adha holiday.

On June 9, the Kurdistan Patriotic Union (PUK) bloc in the Kirkuk Council announced its approval of rotating the governor's post for two years, indicating that it is waiting for the Prime Minister's meeting to discuss the matter.

Kirkuk, a Governorate with significant oil reserves, has historically been a focal point of contention between Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen populations, each vying for influence. The political deadlock following the last provincial elections further strained these relations.

For more than five months, the winning blocs in the Kirkuk Council elections have failed to agree on a joint proposal to form the local government, with each insisting on taking the governor's post and discussing rotating the post between the Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen blocs.

Dozens of senior administrative positions are expected to be redistributed among the components of Kirkuk, most of which are now being run by proxy, including the head of the council and his deputy, the governor and his deputies and assistants, the mayor of four districts and the directors of 16 sub-districts, as well as a number of directors general.