Kirkuk provincial council member Parwin Fatih said that the winners of the Kirkuk provincial council elections are set to convene in Baghdad on Sunday, chaired by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani.
Fatih told Channel8 that the parties in Kirkuk are eagerly anticipating the outcome of today’s meeting, and all parties plan to bring their agendas to the table during discussions with the prime minister.
“If an agreement is reached on the positions, the Kirkuk provincial council will meet this week,” she said.
The scheduled meeting in Baghdad, presided over by Sudani, will be the second meeting of the winners from the Kirkuk provincial council elections.
The initial meeting, convened on February 21, was attended by Bafel Jalal Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a representative from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), along with representatives from Turkmen, Arab, and Christian parties.
PUK leader Talabani and Aso Mamand, a member of the Political Bureau of the PUK, are slated to participate in Sunday’s meeting.
Provincial council elections took place in Kirkuk and 14 other Iraqi provinces on December 18, 2023, yet the formation of the local government has not been completed.
The three communities of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens have not yet agreed regarding the distribution of positions.
According to information obtained by Channel8 from a source within the Kirkuk provincial council, Sudani intends to persuade all parties by offering a prominent position within the federal government to the party willing to give up the governorship of Kirkuk.
The winning parties have until March 23 to reach an agreement; otherwise, the provincial council will lapse into a legal vacuum.
