Turkmen Parliamentary leader foresees agreement on rotating Kirkuk leadership roles

Shafaq News / Arshad Al-Salihi, the leader of the Turkmen parliamentary bloc, announced on Saturday that there were signs of agreement between political parties to pass a proposal that would rotate the roles of council president and governor of Kirkuk among the three main components.

This would guarantee that the concept of joint work is realized and lessen the effects of accumulating previous unfavorable policies.

He made these remarks during today's visit to the Council of Tribes of the Iraqi Turkmen.

Al-Salihi spoke about the latest developments in the political scene and the importance of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani's initiative to form a coalition to manage Kirkuk, aiming to sustain the momentum of negotiations between the victorious political forces in the governorates.

Noteworthy, Kirkuk held its first elections since 2005 on December 18, 2023. The Kurds won seven seats, divided into five seats for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), two for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and one for the quota (Babylon), making a total of eight seats.

In contrast, the Arabs won six seats, distributed as follows: three seats for the Arab Alliance, two for the Leadership Alliance, and one for Al-Ourouba Alliance, while the United Iraqi Turkmen Front won two seats.

The electoral scene in Kirkuk reflects equality in the number of seats between Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen (8-8), which has led to the inability of any party to form the local government.

Al-Sudani sponsored a meeting for the winning political forces in the Kirkuk Provincial Council elections, announcing a "principled agreement" to form the local government in the governorate.

The participants announced the formation of the "Kirkuk Administration Coalition" comprising all the winning forces in the Provincial Council, chaired by the Prime Minister until the constitutional procedures are implemented to form the local government.

They also agreed on the program and internal system of the coalition.