Kurdish leader Barzani to meet Arab members over Kirkuk Governor Provincial Council agreement

Shafaq News/ On Friday, an official from Kirkuk's Provincial Council disclosed the latest developments in reaching a consensus on the governorship of Kirkuk, with a meeting scheduled between several Arab group members and Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani aimed at "rotating" the governorship among the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and other components in the Governorate.

"A meeting of several Arab group members will be held today, Friday, with Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani to reach a political agreement between the KDP and the Arab members along with members of the Turkmen Front," the source told Shafaq News Agency. "The meeting will discuss possible proposals for nominating a governor, a provincial council president, and other positions."

The source added, "The agreement reached between the Arabs, the KDP, and the Turkmen stipulates that the Kurdistan Democratic Party will hold the governor's position for four months and then rotated among the other ethnicities, sharing the governorship among the Governorate's components for a specified period."

"The meeting held with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani discussed all views and proposals presented at the dialogue table to reach a consensus involving all Kirkuk components, with no rejection of the anticipated local government."

The source affirmed, "The Arabs demand the governorship, as does the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). If an agreement is reached between the Arabs and the PUK, other political blocs can be brought into a political agreement because the Arabs hold six seats, the PUK has five Kurdish seats, and there is one Christian quota seat."

PM Al-Sudani emphasized on Thursday the need to proceed with forming the local government in Kirkuk without marginalizing any component in the decision-making process.

Kirkuk is experiencing a political crisis regarding the formation of the local government. Since the final results of the provincial council elections were announced last January, the Kirkuk Provincial Council has not settled on a council president or elected a governor. While local governments in other Governorates have been performing their duties, Kirkuk, along with Diyala, remains mired in political disputes, delaying the formation of its local government.