ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid issued an official decree on Tuesday to appoint Rebwar Taha as the governor of Kirkuk, nearly eight months after the country held provincial elections.
The presidential decree stated the decision will be implemented from the date it is published in the Iraqi official gazette.
Taha, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) member of Kirkuk’s provincial council, was nominated for the governorship of the oil-rich province during a special meeting of the council in Baghdad on Saturday. His appointment marks the return of a Kurdish governor in Kirkuk for the first time since 2017.
Rashid, a fellow PUK member, wished Taha success in his new role, and emphasized the need for providing “the best services” for the people of Kirkuk, regardless of ethnicity, stressing that Kirkuk’s diversity is the primary factor for its stability, according to a statement from the president’s office.
Taha presented his agenda to the Iraqi president, affirming that he will seek to work with all the political powers in service of Kirkuk, the statement added.
"We hereby declare that we will make all our efforts to consolidate security and stability, improve the level of services, revive the economic infrastructure, develop various sectors, and use the rich resources of Kirkuk to improve the livelihood of the beloved citizens of Kirkuk,” Taha said in a statement after his nomination on Saturday.
Taha previously has served two terms in the Iraqi parliament where he led the PUK bloc since 2018. He received nearly 30,000 votes in the provincial election in December - second only to fellow party member Nashat Shahwez.
No council members of the Turkmen Front, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, or the Arab Alliance were in attendance for Saturday’s session. All three parties have deemed that the meeting was in violation of the law, and the Arab and Turkmen parties have stated that they will challenge the outcomes of the session at the Iraqi judiciary.
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.”
The absence of Turkmen council members at the meeting could leave Taha’s appointment open to a challenge.