Kirkuk governor dispute centers on 45-day window

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Kirkuk’s Arab bloc has yet to nominate a candidate for governor, while Turkmen representatives seek to retain the post for what they say are the final 45 days of their term under a power-sharing agreement, provincial council member Raad Saleh Al-Jubouri told Shafaq News.

Al-Jubouri dismissed reports naming potential Arab candidates. Turkmen representatives have also yet to agree on a nominee.

The succession dispute emerged after Mohammed Samaan Agha was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in Iraq’s federal government.

One proposal under discussion would have the provincial council elect an Arab governor and appoint a Turkmen official as second deputy, according to Al-Jubouri, who said the governor would then take 45 days’ leave, allowing the Turkmen deputy to administer the province temporarily.

Political researcher Hussein Al-Bayati warned that political negotiations, a provincial council vote, official approvals, and a presidential decree could delay the appointment beyond the end of the Turkmen community’s term. Agha’s insistence that he will resign only after the council selects a Turkmen successor adds another complication, he told Shafaq News.

On October 28, Agha reaffirmed his commitment to the power-sharing agreement, maintaining that the governorship should remain with the Turkmen community until its term expires. He also urged political parties to respect the agreed timetable without shortening or extending any community’s tenure.

Agha became Kirkuk’s first Turkmen governor since 2003 in April under an agreement to rotate the post among the province’s Kurdish, Turkmen, and Arab communities.

The Iraqi Turkmen Front has been seeking a successor, with Mardin Kok Kaya and Qahtan Al-Wandawi previously emerging as leading contenders. Kirkuk’s first deputy governor, Rebwar Taha, has been overseeing administrative affairs and warned against a prolonged leadership vacuum as political parties negotiate the succession.