The Kirkuk provincial council held its first meeting in the presence of all members and the council took office on July 11, and members are to perform their duties and get their privileges including monthly salaries.
The meeting was held at the request of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani, nearly seven months after the provincial council elections.
The Kirkuk Provincial Council consists of 16 seats, with seven seats for the Kurds (five seats for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK and two seats for the KDP), six seats for the Arab component (the Arab Alliance in Kirkuk has 3 seats, the Leadership has two seats, and the Arabism Alliance has one seat), while the Turkmen won two seats, in addition to the quota seat for the Christians. At least nine members are required to attend the first session to complete quorum.
Out of 15 Iraqi governorates, the local government was formed in 13 governorates, while the Kirkuk and Diyala councils failed to form the local government due to disagreements between the blocs and a lack of agreement on the distribution of senior positions. The main dispute in Kirkuk concerns the position of governor, which was in the hands of the Kurds from 2005 until October 2017.
Four hours of debate met for ten minutes meeting
After 1:30 pm, members of both Arab and Turkmen factions (together eight) seats in the council, went to the meeting hall of the Kirkuk provincial council, but could not meet the legal quorum, because they needed nine members.
"Rakan Saeed, the oldest elected member of the provincial council, who presided over the session, waited for about 10 minutes for the quorum to be completed, but received more than one phone call and left the hall," KirkukNow reporter said.
"The second time he returned to the hall, he asked the other members of the council to participate in the first meeting," he said. "At that time, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) faction entered the hall yet two Arab members left the meeting hall causing problems for the legal quorum.”
The northern, oil-rich city of Kirkuk, is home to about 1.77 million Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs. Located 238 kilometers north of Baghdad, Kirkuk is an ethnically mixed province and has long been at the center of disputes between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government KRG.
The highest legislative and supervisory authority within the boundaries of the local administration shall be with the Council, which has the right to issue internal laws and instructions for managing the affairs of the province, formulate the general policy, discuss and approve the local budget and project plans.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the quota seat for the Christians, which both have six seats, refused to participate in the session.
After waiting for 15 minutes, all the council members left the meeting hall.
The PUK said the reason for their absence was that they requested the meeting to be open, because they did not hide their fears that the governor and the speaker of the council will be decided in a closed meeting without their consent.
Although the other factions were sure that no posts would be decided at the meeting and there was no secret agreement, but the PUK insisted that the meeting should be open.
Afterwards, all members of the council met in the hall of the deputy governor of Kirkuk for further discussions, until 5 pm, then decided to hold the meeting.
Rakan Saeed, the oldest elected member of the provincial council and acting governor of Kirkuk, was sworn in as a member of the council on July 10th.
"I want to thank all the communities for the first meeting of the council, we are here to hold this legislative session, on the recommendation of the prime minister and the efforts of a number of Iraqi lawmakers, I thank all those who tried Success of this meeting.”
"Peace in Kirkuk is the most important thing and comes first. We thank the people of the province for their participation in the elections," he added.
"After this meeting, we will consult and discuss for 30 days to reach an agreement among all communities to form a government... Now I will suspend this meeting according to the law.”
According to the law, the council speaker and his deputy must be elected at the first session and the governor and his deputy within 30 days, but the Kirkuk administration postponed the two issues for the next 30 days due to disagreements between the communities.
Why was the meeting important?
The Kirkuk provincial council will officially take office and according to the law, the election of the governor and the speaker of the council will be the priority of its work within 30 days.
Meanwhile, council members can perform their duties as council members and receive their rights of salaries, private vehicles and other privileges.
The Kurdish component, with seven seats, insists that the position of governor is the right of the Kurds, specifically the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, while the Arabs, led by the Arab Alliance headed by Rakan Saeed, seek to retain the position, while the Turkmen propose to rotate the position among the three main components in the governorate.
