ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) stated on Monday that the recent nomination of a governor for the disputed Kirkuk province from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), has excluded Turkmens, Arabs and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and called for an “inclusive framework” for the city.

“We believe that the PUK approach of creating a de facto situation that excludes Turkmens, other Arab groups, and the KDP is not the right way forward,” AKP spokesperson Omer Celik said during a press conference in Ankara.

“This is not beneficial for Iraq, which needs an inclusive policy, and it is a particularly misguided approach for Kirkuk,” he added.

Nine out of the 16 members of the Kirkuk provincial council held a meeting at al-Rasheed hotel in Baghdad on Saturday evening, hours before a deadline to form the province’s local administration. During the meeting, Rebwar Taha of the PUK was nominated for the governorship of Kirkuk, and Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hafidh from the Arab Qiyada Alliance as the council’s chief.

The meeting drew the ire of some Arab parties and the Turkmen bloc, which did not participate in the meeting.

“Any approach that excludes Turkmens is wrong. Likewise, an approach that excludes other Arab groups, the KDP, and others is also wrong,” Celik said, noting that the AKP insists that the rights of the Turkmens, KDP, Arabs, and other factions must be recognized.

No Turkmen council members were present at the meeting in Baghdad, nor were they given any senior positions. However they were given the positions of deputy governor and deputy council chief.

On Monday, the Turkmen Front, which holds two seats on the council, filed a complaint against the formation of Kirkuk’s local government in the session, according to Mohammed Samaan, the spokesperson for the party.

Hassan Turan, head of the Turkmen Front, said during a presser on Sunday that the meeting violates the provisions of the Iraqi provincial elections law, which state that the council chief based on seniority must be present at the meeting to elect the governor and the head of the council, and that positions must be distributed fairly between all of Kirkuk’s components.

Former acting Governor of Kirkuk Rakan al-Jabouri, who served as the council’s chief in the first meeting as the eldest member of the body, said that the session did not meet the legal requirements as no request was filed to the head of the council to hold the meeting.

“This is neither healthy nor acceptable. We believe that steps must be taken quickly to return to a fully inclusive framework; otherwise, we will face additional problems,” Celik said.

For its part, the PUK said in statement on Monday that it values the importance of all the components in the local government of Kirkuk, adding that it will defend the rights of the Turkmens, and all the components.

“We reassure the Turkmen brothers like other communities; they have their rightful place in the administration of Kirkuk and the PUK is the true defender of their rights and will not allow anyone to deprive them of their rights,” read a statement from PUK’s politburo.

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.

Ultimately, nominations for governors must be approved by the Iraqi president.