Kirkuk's new governor vows to serve all communities

Shafaq News-Kirkuk

Kirkuk's newly appointed governor, Mohammed Samaan, reassured residents over concerns about the power-rotation mechanism among its main components, expressing confidence that the arrangement would succeed.

"The people of Kirkuk may feel anxious about this new experience, but we affirm that we will work to serve everyone without discrimination," Samaan told reporters. "This experience will proceed successfully, whether it receives support or faces attempts at obstruction."

On service projects and infrastructure rehabilitation approved under his predecessor, Rebwar Taha, Samaan stressed his commitment to seeing them through. "We complement one another, and these projects will cover all areas without exception."

Samaan is the first Turkmen to govern Kirkuk since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, taking office under a power-rotation framework that distributes the governorship among the province's main communities —Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen. Kirkuk remains one of Iraq's most contested territories, constitutionally designated a disputed zone between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region.

Read more: Kirkuk installs its first Turkmen Governor in two decades, but not everyone accepts it