"The majority of issues and problems that have plagued Kirkuk province would be resolved with the appointment of a new governor and the reactivation of the provincial council,” the parties said in a statement.
The council has been ineffective since October 2017 when Iraqi forces took control of the disputed province and Kurdish lawmakers fled. The KDP has since refused to return to Kirkuk, deeming it “occupied.”
The Baghdad-appointed Arab governor has been accused of reviving Arabization policies.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Gorran, Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), Komal, and socialist and communist parties all met in KDP’s absence at the PUK’s office in Kirkuk. They vowed to protect the Kurdish house in the province.
They demanded implementation of the constitution – Article 140 is meant to resolve the province’s disputed states – and for the restoration of civil authority in Kirkuk.
They also called for Kurdish lawmakers in Baghdad to be more “vigilant” in the capital.
"Through the parliament, they could monitor the implementation of the constitution and their hands are open to serve these areas," read the statement.
The KDP downplayed the importance of the meeting. Mohammed Khurshid, head of KDP’s Kirkuk bureau, said that without their party, no solution can be found for Kirkuk.
"Since the treason of October 16, we have not taken part in any meeting held in Kirkuk because we consider the city occupied. Unless this military invasion is ended, we will not participate in any official work in Kirkuk,” he said.
The KDP was not even invited to the meeting, he added, accusing the PUK of wanting to “mobilize voices against the KDP.”
The PUK's aim is not to normalize the situation of Kirkuk, but to receive a post for itself – the governorship, he claimed. But the KDP thinks it is not just a simple matter of handing the post over to the PUK again.
The dispute between KDP and PUK over Kirkuk is seeping into negotiations to form the next Kurdistan Regional Government. The PUK wants to see all the issues between them and the KDP resolved at once in order to clear the slate before moving forward.
The KDP, however, says the issues are separate.
Khurshid argued a solution for Kirkuk must come from Baghdad since the problems stem from Baghdad.
Hoshiyar Abdulrahman, a senior PUK official in Kirkuk, said Kurds in the city should not “pay the price” for inter-party rivalries.
"The KDP is a main actor in the provincial council. With their return, we can appoint a new Kurdish governor for the city. All the efforts are now to make the KDP brothers return to the provincial council,” he said.
