Update: KDP, PUK say they will back candidate for Kirkuk governor
Delegations from the two largest parties in the Kurdistan Region met in Sulaimani on Monday and then held a press conference.
"The KDP and PUK will back a candidate approved by both parties," said Dishad Shahab of the KDP.
"Our positions are very close to each other," he added.
A governor backed by the KDP and PUK would expedite and streamline Kurdish politics in Kirkuk, Baghdad, and Erbil.
"We are closer than ever to take practical steps to normalize the situation of Kirkuk," Shahab added.
Oil-rich Kirkuk has many ethno-religious components; in last year's Iraqi parliamentary election Kurds won six seats, Arabs three, and Turkmen three, while Christians took their minority quota seat.
"We will try our best to pick a person approved by all the communities of Kirkuk," Shahab said. "The governor of Kirkuk should represent Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and other communities.
PUK Spokesperson Latif Sheikh Omar was also positive following talks on Monday.
"We have started preparations to the question of Kirkuk and should reassure the people of Kurdistan that all the problems will be resolved," he said.
He encouraged the government in Erbil to be formed in a timely manner.
"We all should hurry forming the new Kurdistan Regional Government cabinet and are expressing our dedication as a partner to take part in the future cabinet. We stressed that the new cabinet should be formed in a short period of time," he said.
Cabinet talks have now dragged since the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary election on September 30, primarily because of disagreements between the ruling KDP and the PUK over the problem of Kirkuk. The PUK wants to resolve the problem of Kirkuk before joining the new KRG cabinet.
"Before we hold the meeting, we informed the PUK that we should discuss the bulk of Kirkuk province’s problems — and the post of the governor is part of the talks," a KDP leader told Rudaw.
The KDP delegation was led by Mahmood Mohammed, the party’s spokesperson. Hakim Qadir, a senior politburo member, headed the PUK group.
“Whenever the Kurdistan Democratic Party approves the name of one of the candidates the PUK has proposed for the post of Kirkuk governor and whenever the Kirkuk Provincial Council meets on this matter, we will submit names of our candidates for government positions to Masrour Barzani within 48 hours,” PUK leadership member Farid Asasar told Rudaw this week, referring to new Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Barzani.
Kirkuk, according to Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, has a disputed status and is claimed by Erbil and Baghdad. It has been under the control of the latter since the events of October 2017. It had a Kurdish governor, Najmaldin Karim, who was sacked by the previous Iraqi government, and replaced by acting Governor Rakan Saeed al-Jabouri, an Arab.
Karim, who has been on the fringes of the political scene in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region over the past two years, told Voice of America in an interview published on Monday that Kirkuk "should not impede the establishment of a strong government in Kurdistan."
The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga defended much of the province from repeated Islamic State (ISIS) attacks after Iraqi forces fled the jihadists’ initial offensive in 2014.
A PUK leadership council member, speaking to Rudaw on Monday on the condition of anonymity, said his party and the KDP are on the verge of reaching an agreement, as both sides are comprising in order to "show more leniency.”
The Kurdistan Region has been run by a caretaker government since the election. Erbil urgently needs a new cabinet to address relations with Baghdad, resolve outstanding issues on oil sales, agree its share of the federal budget, and solve territorial disputes.
With Masrour Barzani tasked to form a new government as KRG prime minister designate, formation has been delayed until parliamentarians reconvene from their 15-day summer recess. A KDP-PUK deal for Kirkuk could allow the MPs to move more swiftly.
So far, only one ministerial post has been announced. A candidate from the Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party (KSDP) is expected to take charge of the Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs.
Rebwar Talabani acquitted of 6-month jail sentence
On Sunday, the Iraqi Federal Court acquitted acting head of the Kirkuk Provincial Council Rebwar Talabani, annulling a six-month prison sentence, his brother Bakhtiyar Talabani announced in a Facebook post.
The sentence against Talabani was handed down by a Baghdad court on December 26. Acting Governor Jabouri had filed the lawsuit against Talabani. It alleged that he spent millions of Iraqi dinars illegally.
The Kirkuk Provincial Council has constitutional authority to appoint governors. The Brotherhood List holds the majority of seats on the council and is comprised of KDP, PUK, and Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU).
Update: 2:03 p.m.