Iraqi PM calls for first Kirkuk Provincial Council meeting

Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani urged members of Kirkuk's Provincial Council to convene their first session.

In a statement, Al-Sudani said, "Following the successful organization of local elections by the federal government, including in Kirkuk where elections had not been held since 2005, we facilitated multiple rounds of political dialogues among the winning parties."

Prime Minister Al Sudani has chaired three meetings of the political forces that won the Kirkuk Provincial Council elections.

"These dialogues resulted in an agreement to form the Kirkuk Administration Coalition, which includes the winning forces, and a political agreement paper outlining fundamental principles across political, administrative, cultural, and economic axes."

Al-Sudani continued, "In line with the agreements made in the last dialogue session, we call on the newly elected members of the Kirkuk Provincial Council to hold their first meeting, chaired by the eldest member, on Thursday, July 11, 2024, at 1:00 PM in the Provincial Council building."

He urged political parties to "cooperate in implementing the political agreements and continue these dialogues in the coming days."

In response, Barwin Fattah, a member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council and a senior member by age, confirmed to Shafaq News Agency, "We are committed to the Prime Minister's call to hold the session at the scheduled time," noting that "if the acting Governor of Kirkuk, Rakan Saeed al-Jubouri, takes the oath tomorrow, Wednesday, at the Kirkuk Federal Court, he will be the senior member and must call the winning members to attend the first session."

She affirmed, "If the acting Governor does not take the oath, I will assume the role of the senior member and will call for the first session on time."

Notably, Kirkuk held its first elections since 2005 on December 18, 2023. The Kurds secured seven seats: five for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), two for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and one for the quota (Babylon), making a total of eight seats. The Arabs won six seats: three for the Arab Alliance, two for the Leadership (Al-Qiyada) Alliance, and one for Al-Ourouba Alliance. The United Iraqi Turkmen Front won two seats.

The electoral scene has become complicated due to the equal distribution of seats among Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen (8-8), preventing any side from forming the local government.