Stalled Kirkuk council not consulted by city’s acting governor
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Members of Kirkuk Provincial Council have accused the province’s acting governor of exploiting a power void created by the absence of the council.
“Kirkuk acting governor Rakan Saeed doesn’t consult us in any way. He has frozen all the council’s duties and roles. He works the way he wants,” Azad Jabari, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) member of the council, told Rudaw.
The provincial council has met only once, in the absence of many of its members, since Iraqi forces took control of the province in mid-October and some of its members fled the city.
Ibrahim Khalil, a member with the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), said: “The provincial council itself doesn’t exist, let alone for its powers to be monopolized. The current council is just a name, nothing else.”
Rakan Saeed al-Jabouri, a Sunni Arab was appointed to the post by the prime minister temporarily after former governor Najmaldin Karim was removed. Karim is a member of the PUK. The position of Kirkuk governor was given to the PUK as part of the party’s election entitlement.
Jabari of the PUK thinks if provincial council members go back to Kirkuk “a Kurdish governor will then be elected and Kirkuk will be freed from this political and governmental monopoly.”
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is among the parties that have so far refused to return to Kirkuk.
“The KDP made us hold the referendum and the party is not coming back to activate the provincial council,” Jabari said.
Mohammed Kamal, head of the KDP faction in the council, countered: “We were exiled. Our people live in exile. We are not prepared to send back only our officials unless our people return and our headquarters are reopened in Kirkuk. Conditions in Kirkuk should be normalized and legalized. The current rule in Kirkuk is militaristic.”
Selecting a new governor would require the Kurdish parties to find some unity.
“We are not prepared to applaud and make a PUK candidate governor every time because we have experience with this – the PUK nominates someone and asks us for our support, and then says he is bad and should therefore be removed,” Kamal said.
The council is also without a head. Its acting chair Rebwar Talabani has not returned since fleeing in October. He had earlier said he was not prepared to go back to the city unless conditions in Kirkuk return to how they were prior to October 16. In addition, 11 council members with the Kurdish-led Brotherhood Faction have said they are not prepared to take part in council meetings with the current conditions in Kirkuk.
Talabani’s party, the KIU, nominated Jwan Hasan to replace him. Council must, however, hold a vote before she can formally assume the office.
More on Kirkuk's power struggles: Parties jostle for control in disputed Kirkuk
“Kirkuk acting governor Rakan Saeed doesn’t consult us in any way. He has frozen all the council’s duties and roles. He works the way he wants,” Azad Jabari, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) member of the council, told Rudaw.
The provincial council has met only once, in the absence of many of its members, since Iraqi forces took control of the province in mid-October and some of its members fled the city.
Ibrahim Khalil, a member with the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), said: “The provincial council itself doesn’t exist, let alone for its powers to be monopolized. The current council is just a name, nothing else.”
Rakan Saeed al-Jabouri, a Sunni Arab was appointed to the post by the prime minister temporarily after former governor Najmaldin Karim was removed. Karim is a member of the PUK. The position of Kirkuk governor was given to the PUK as part of the party’s election entitlement.
Jabari of the PUK thinks if provincial council members go back to Kirkuk “a Kurdish governor will then be elected and Kirkuk will be freed from this political and governmental monopoly.”
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is among the parties that have so far refused to return to Kirkuk.
“The KDP made us hold the referendum and the party is not coming back to activate the provincial council,” Jabari said.
Mohammed Kamal, head of the KDP faction in the council, countered: “We were exiled. Our people live in exile. We are not prepared to send back only our officials unless our people return and our headquarters are reopened in Kirkuk. Conditions in Kirkuk should be normalized and legalized. The current rule in Kirkuk is militaristic.”
Selecting a new governor would require the Kurdish parties to find some unity.
“We are not prepared to applaud and make a PUK candidate governor every time because we have experience with this – the PUK nominates someone and asks us for our support, and then says he is bad and should therefore be removed,” Kamal said.
The council is also without a head. Its acting chair Rebwar Talabani has not returned since fleeing in October. He had earlier said he was not prepared to go back to the city unless conditions in Kirkuk return to how they were prior to October 16. In addition, 11 council members with the Kurdish-led Brotherhood Faction have said they are not prepared to take part in council meetings with the current conditions in Kirkuk.
Talabani’s party, the KIU, nominated Jwan Hasan to replace him. Council must, however, hold a vote before she can formally assume the office.
More on Kirkuk's power struggles: Parties jostle for control in disputed Kirkuk