Iraqi Turkmen Front "trusts" judiciary to resolve Kirkuk governance dispute

Shafaq News/ On Sunday, the Iraqi Turkmen Front in Kirkuk expressed its absolute confidence in the Iraqi judiciary's fairness in issuing decisions that contribute to establishing the rule of law and forming a consensual local government.

In a statement, the Front said, "Since the formation of the local government in Kirkuk on August 11, 2024, in violation of the law, the province has been experiencing instability due to the local government's lack of legal legitimacy and the absence of Turkmen representation through their legitimate representatives."

"The local government's work since that date has been marred by many legal violations. This exclusionary approach, which does not believe in the necessity of consensual governance, will return Kirkuk to the pre-law enforcement situation of October 16, 2017."

The Front pointed out that "incidents targeting the Turkmen community, such as the Qaisariya and Khan Qirdar fires, and the targeting of the Turkmen House headquarters official, Saighan Hajar Oglu, by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), are clear evidence of the deteriorating situation in the province."

The statement continued, "The situation escalated to the point of a gunfight inside the local government building. We call on all political forces to contribute to addressing the situation in Kirkuk by ensuring the formation of a consensual government according to the law that includes all components, through the winning lists in the provincial council elections."

"We have absolute confidence in the fairness of the Iraqi judiciary, and we hope it will issue decisions that contribute to establishing the rule of law and forming a consensual local government as stipulated in Article 13 of the Provincial and Parliamentary Elections Law."

On August 10, the Governor and the President of the Kirkuk Provincial Council were elected in Baghdad without the participation of members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party bloc (KDP) and several Arab deputies. Ribwar Taha was appointed as Governor, and Mohammed Hafiz as President of the Provincial Council.

Before the meeting in Baghdad, three blocs—KDP, the Arab Alliance, and the Turkmen Front—announced their boycott of the meeting, declaring that the Provincial Council session that led to the selection of the local government head and the President of the Kirkuk Provincial Council was illegal, stating that they were not invited to attend the session.

On December 4, the Administrative Court decided to postpone the ruling on the formation of the local government in Kirkuk to December 24. This is the fifth time the court has postponed the ruling on the legitimacy of the formation of the local government in Kirkuk.