ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kirkuk's provincial council is once again expected to hold its first session almost six months following the Iraqi local elections, as disagreements between political parties prevented the session from taking place in the multi-ethnic province.
Kirkuk held provincial council elections in December, but the absence of a clear majority and disagreements between the multi-ethnic province’s different components have blocked the formation of the local administration.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani has presided over three meetings attended by the political parties who have representation in the council. The prime minister’s office in Kirkuk has called on the members of the council to hold the first meeting next week.
“Kirkuk needs to resolve this issue and I think the Iraqi prime minister has a plan to work on this issue. We hope that the political forces in the next few days to make a Kirkuki decision that will lead to a Kirkuki solution for the situation in Kirkuk,” Amir al- Jabouri, the head of Sudani’s office in Kirkuk told Rudaw on Wednesday.
Rudaw has learned that the first session is tasked to kick start the activities of the council, which will then have at least 30 days to elect a new governor.
Ahmed Kirkuki, from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said the Iraqi prime minister might visit the council.
"We expect the council members to meet early next week, but without making any political decisions, and there is a possibility that Mr. Sudani will visit the Kirkuk Provincial Council," he said.
The parties aim to hold the council’s first session before the anticipated Sudani visit.
Last month, Sudani presided over a meeting of Kirkuk’s political forces to set a date for the council’s first meeting and agreed to hold it “within an agreed-upon timeframe to commence the constitutional procedures for forming the local government.”
A Turkmen member, whose side has also demands to receive the governor’s position, said a consensus already exists.
"We have a consensus to hold a meeting of the provincial council and agree on a joint administration between the three components, administrative and security posts should be divided by 32 percent and the governor's post should be rotated among the three components," Arshad Salihi, the head of the Turkmen Front told Rudaw on Wednesday.
The 32-percent ratio was proposed by former Iraqi president and PUK leader Jalal Talabani to further coexistence and strengthen unity in the diverse province following the US invasion in 2003. Talabani died in 2017.
Since the fall of the Ba’athist regime in 2003, Kurds and Arabs have dominated the top post. The governor was a Kurd until October 2017 when the federal forces returned to the province after the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum and appointed a Sunni as acting governor. The city has never had a governor from the Turkmen community.
Kurdish parties won seven seats - five to the PUK and two to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). A coalition of three Arab parties won six seats. The minority Christian quota seat was taken by a candidate close to pro-Iran Shiite militia groups and the PUK.
Hiwa Hussamadin contributed to this report from Kirkuk
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