Kirkuk council to vote on new governor Saturday

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Kirkuk Provincial Council will hold an emergency session on November 14 to elect Qahtan Al-Wandawi as the province's new governor, replacing Mohammed Samaan Agha, a council source told Shafaq News on Friday.

The council aims to settle the choice of governor during the session before completing the legal and administrative procedures for the successor to take office.

The session follows recent political understandings over power-sharing among Kirkuk's political groups, which have been negotiating the governorship and the formation of the local administration, the source said.

The council had postponed a vote scheduled for November 11, following political disagreements over the governorship.

Born in Kirkuk in 1975, Al-Wandawi holds a master's degree in international trade and logistics and is pursuing a doctorate in economics. He has headed the Iraqi Turkmen Front in Kirkuk since 2022, having previously held several administrative positions within the party and led Turkmen educational institutions.