Kirkuk Council member: Meeting with Al-Sudani postponed indefinitely
Shafaq News / Member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council and leader in the Turkmen Front Ahmed Ramzi announced that the meeting with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani along with members of the Kirkuk Provincial Council and political blocs, scheduled for Sunday, has been postponed until further notice.
Ramzi noted that "the planned meeting, if held, would have been the third of its kind, aimed at addressing the demands of the blocs and reaching common formulations that satisfy all parties to form the administration of Kirkuk governorate and its council."
On February 22, al-Sudani and Kirkuk's parties agreed to form a coalition that brings together the forces that won the last local elections. This paves the way for the formation of the local government, while the coalition remains under the chairmanship of al-Sudani himself until resolving outstanding issues.
The postponed meeting comes amid ongoing tensions between the different ethnic and religious groups in Kirkuk, which is disputed between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The city is home to a mix of Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen, and each group has its own demands for power and representation in the local government.
The meeting was expected to be attended by representatives of all the major political parties in Kirkuk, including the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Turkmen Front, and the Arab Sunni Alliance.