Parwin Fatih, the oldest member in the Kirkuk provincial council awaits the initial session of the council.
Boycott by Arab and Turkmen members
Kirkuk council meeting cut short after quorum not met
KIRKUK — The Kirkuk Provincial Council failed to meet due to the lack of a legal quorum after a boycott by Arab and Turkmen factions. Kurdish and Christian elected representatives were in attendance.
Dr. Ahmad Kirkuki, a PUK council member, told 964media that they attended the meeting at the invitation of Kirkuk’s acting governor for the council’s first session.
Members from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the representative for the Christian quota (affiliated with the PUK), and the PUK bloc, totaling eight, were waiting for the meeting to start.
The session of the 16-seat chamber was postponed because of the boycott by Turkmen and Arab members. As of this report, no future date has been set for the initial meeting.
“Today, we Kurds arrived at the hall and waited, sending a message and showing a strong image of our unity,” Dr. Kirkuki said to 964media.
Although there has not yet been an agreement on appointing a governor for Kirkuk, Kirkuki believes the Kurdish factions have demonstrated effective coordination.
At a high-level meeting yesterday between the KDP and PUK, both parties committed to supporting a Kurdish candidate for Kirkuk governor. Despite reports in the Iraqi press that the KDP might ally with Sunni Arab and Turkmen parties to elect a governor, yesterday’s meeting between Kurdistan’s two main parties dismissed that possibility.
Both parties have expressed their intention to resolve differences with other ethnic groups to prevent further delays and to elect a new governor.
No single party or ethnic group has secured a majority in the council, making the election of a governor challenging.