A delegation from the Kirkuk branch of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) on Monday visited the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) Kirkuk base, discussing intra-Kurdish unity as talks over the establishment of the local government in the province continue.
The members of the two leading Kurdish parties stressed that “all Kurdish political entities in Kirkuk should try to celebrate Newroz and all other celebrations together,” Rawand Mala Mahmoud, head of PUK’s branch in Kirkuk, told reporters.
He elaborated that this is part of the parties’ efforts to “further unify the Kurdish house and gain the public’s confidence.”
Kurds celebrate their New Year on the eve of March 21 by lighting torches that are then branshished by crowds hiking through hills and mountains, and by holding picnics together with family members and loved ones over the course of at least three days.
Iraqi authorities have either banned or limited the celebration of Newroz in Kirkuk since 2017 when Iraqi forces retook control of the previously Kurdish-held city and expelled the Peshmerga forces after the province took part in Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum.
Divisions between Kurdish parties in the province have been identified as a key reason behind their failure to garner enough seats in the December local elections to secure the position of the governor, which has been held by an unelected Arab since 2017. Between the collapse of the Baathist regime in 2003 and 2017 the position had always been held by Kurds.
PUK secured five seats in the 16-seat provincial council and the KDP gained only two. Despite having the backing of a Chistian member of the body, they cannot form a local government without the support of Turkmens or/and Arabs.
Two amendments made to the provincial council elections law in May last year, which apply only to Kirkuk, make it difficult to predict who will fill the province’s governor seat next.
One amendment states that “the results of the elections shall not act as a legal or administrative basis to determine the future of Kirkuk province.”
“Power shall be distributed in a fair representation which guarantees the participation of the province’s components regardless of the results of the elections,” reads another amendment.
