Kirkuk Provincial Council reaches agreement on local government formation
Shafaq News / A political source reported, on Tuesday, that the winning blocs in the Kirkuk Provincial Council have reached an agreement to appoint their local government's governor, council president, and other positions to establish a joint administration.
The source informed Shafaq News Agency that "the winning blocs in the Provincial Council have reached a preliminary agreement on naming the governor of Kirkuk and proceeding with appointing the council president."
Furthermore, the source confirmed that "the winning blocs will hold a crucial meeting with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani upon his return from Washington to appoint the governor and announce the formation of the Provincial Council, adhering to the principle of power-sharing and ensuring no exclusion of any component in participating in the local government."
The source added that "the agreement between the winning blocs and the convergence of perspectives will contribute to swiftly reaching a joint agreement and proceeding with the meeting to announce the formation of the governorate's administration and council, initiating the completion of service-related tasks or those associated with preparing the governorate's budget according to sectors."
Notably, Kirkuk held its first local elections on December 18, 2023, since 2005, where Kurds secured seven seats divided into five seats for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and two seats for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
On the other hand, Arabs obtained six seats, with three seats for the Arab Alliance, two seats for the Leadership Alliance, and one seat for al-Orouba Alliance. Additionally, the United Iraqi Turkmen Front secured two seats.
The electoral scene reflects the equality in the number of seats among Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen (8-8), which led to the inability of any party to form the local government.
Prime Minister Al-Sudani presided over two meetings for the winning political forces in the Kirkuk Provincial Council elections, announcing a "principled agreement" to proceed with forming the local government in the governorate.
