Kirkuk political leaders to meet in Baghdad to settle governor post

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Influential political leaders from Kirkuk province are scheduled to meet in Baghdad on Monday to select a new governor and end a local administrative vacuum, the head of the provincial council said on Saturday.

"There are three candidates for the post whose names will be presented in the coming days, but the strongest of them is Muhaymin Hamdani, a parliament member from the Taqadum party," Mohammed Ibrahim Hafiz told Rudaw’s Gashaw Khalid.

The push to select a new governor comes after former governor Mohammed Samaan Agha was approved by the Iraqi parliament last month to serve as the federal state minister for minority affairs, completing the cabinet appointments in the current Iraqi government led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. 

Since Iraqi law prohibits officials from holding two executive positions simultaneously, Agha’s federal appointment vacated the provincial post early and prompted fresh negotiations among Kirkuk's political factions.   

Kirkuk's local administration is governed by a 2024 power-sharing deal known as the “Rasheed Hotel” agreement, under which the governorship rotates among the province's main ethnic components. 

The post was initially held by Rebwar Taha of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), followed by Agha of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF). 

Agha was elected in April - becoming Kirkuk's first Turkmen governor in over a century after a prolonged deadlock in the 16-seat provincial council - and had been expected to serve until December before handing the post to a nominee from two Arab factions.

Hafiz, who is also a member of the Taqadum party, noted that "Three candidates are on the negotiation table, and Muhaymin Hamdani is the strongest."

"So far, no final agreement has been reached on a specific personality to become the governor of Kirkuk, but several meetings and discussions have taken place between Taqadum and the PUK for this purpose," he added.

Zaidi's office on Tuesday stated that the premier "directed the expedition of resolving the Kirkuk governor selection issue and ending the administrative vacuum, in accordance with the agreements concluded among the province's components," during a meeting with several of Kirkuk’s provincial leaders.

The head of the ITF in Kirkuk Qahtan al-Windawi told Rudaw’s Mustafa Nashat in early October that “the post will remain for the Turkmen component according to the agreement between the parties.”


In August, Agha told Rudaw’s Shko Omar that he would "relinquish his position and ensure a smooth power transfer" at the end of his term as part of the agreement.

"Whenever our duties are completed, we will hand it over democratically and easily," he pledged at the time.