The acting head of the council, however, accuses those members of acting illegally.
“Kirkuk Provincial Council held an unofficial meeting, discussing the removal of me from the post of the head of the provincial council. Ten members for it – two from the PUK, four from the Turkmen Front, and four from the Iraqi Republican Movement – have requested an official meeting of the council to appoint the current deputy head to replace me,” Rebwar Talabani told Rudaw.
This is “illegal and violates the by-laws of the council because only the head of the council, me, can call for a meeting,” he added.
Talabani, from the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), has been the acting head of the Kirkuk Provincial Council since 2014. He took up the post when the previous council chief, Hasan Turan, who is Turkmen, ran for Iraqi elections in 2014.
The council has been ineffective since October 2017 when Iraqi forces took control of Kirkuk and Kurdish lawmakers fled – Talabani among them. He has since been living in Erbil. He risks arrest if he returns to Kirkuk.
Talabani said that he has continued to fulfill his duties from the Kurdistan Region capital and has called for the council to meet in the past, but the members did not come together.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has refused to return to Kirkuk while it is “occupied” by Iraqi forces.
Kurds in the disputed city that is claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad have raised the alarm that the new administration under the guidance of Governor Rakan al-Jabouri has revived the Baathist-era policy of Arabization, forcibly removing Kurdish landowners from their homes.
Members of the council have stressed the need to reactivate the council in order to address the problems plaguing the province.
Council member Mohammed Ghareeb confirmed the attempt to remove Talabani. They expect to meet on January 8 to elect a new council chief.
There are 41 seats in the Kirkuk Provincial Council: 26 held by the KDP-PUK Brotherhood List, eight held by the Turkmen Front, five belong to the Iraqi Republican Group, one to the Turkmen-Islamic Alliance, and one for the Iraqi National Group.
Iraq should hold provincial elections in 2019.
