ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Rebwar Taha, a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), was nominated for governor of Kirkuk at a special meeting of the provincial council in Baghdad on Saturday.
Nine out of the 16 members of the council were in attendance: all five PUK members, three Arab members, and the winner of the Christian minority quota. The meeting was not attended by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) or Turkmen members, leaving open the possibility that his nomination may be challenged.
Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hafidh of the Qiyada Alliance, an Arab party, was nominated for the post of council chief.
Taha’s nomination came hours before the legal timeframe to form the local administration was set to end. The council had its first meeting on July 11 and by law it had to form the local administration within 30 days.
“Congratulations to all the people of Kirkuk. After several years of waiting, the people of Kirkuk are now happy, all the components - Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen,” PUK council member Ahmed Kirkuki said following the meeting in a video where he is seen standing with his arm on Taha’s shoulder.
“Congratulations to all the components,” Taha said in the video.
Taha previously served two terms in the Iraqi parliament where he had been the head of the PUK bloc since 2018. He received nearly 30,000 votes in the December provincial election, second only to his fellow party member Nashat Shahwez.
“Do not congratulate the PUK. Congratulate Kirkuk and its people,” PUK leader Bafel Talabani told Rudaw following Taha’s nomination, stressing that the party aims to serve all of Kirkuk’s components.
“We must make Kirkuk an exemplary model for coexistence, wealth, and peace,” Talabani added.
The absence of a clear majority after the December polls and disputes between the parties hindered the process of appointing the governor and forming the local administration for over seven months. Kirkuk is the only Iraqi province yet to finalize its government.
Because of Kirkuk’s status as a multi-ethnic, disputed province with a history of demographic change, the election law dictates that “power shall be distributed in a fair representation which guarantees the participation of the province’s components regardless of the results of the elections.”
No Turkmen council members were present at the meeting in Baghdad, nor were they given any senior positions. This could leave the nominations open to a challenge.
Nominations for governors must be approved by the president.