The Administrative Court in Baghdad rejected the lawsuit filed by the member a member of Kirkuk Provincial Council demanded the cancellation of the Republican Decree appointing the current Governor of Kirkuk.
In August 2024, Salwa Ahmad Al-Mafarji filed a lawsuit in the Administrative Court in Baghdad against the issuance of a Republican Decree by the Iraqi President appointing Rebwar Taha as Governor of Kirkuk. According to the lawsuit, "the decree was issued in violation of the law."
The Administrative Court decided in its session held on December 24 to reject the lawsuit filed by Al-Mufarji, stating that "the plaintiff's lawsuit lacks legal basis."
Al-Mufarji claimed in her lawsuit that the provincial council session held at the Rashid Hotel in Baghdad, which resulted in the election of the governor and the council chairman, was in violation of the law and stated that "the session was held without an invitation from the oldest member who chaired the council."
She pointed out that the session was held with the attendance of only 9 members without informing or notifying the rest of the provincial council members.
On this basis, she demanded the cancellation of the presidential decree regarding Taha assuming his duties as governor of Kirkuk, but the court rejected her request.
On August 10, eight months after the provincial council elections were held, the council chairman, council rapporteur, governor and one of the governor's deputies were elected at the Rashid Hotel in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The session was held with the attendance of nine members out of a total of 16 members of the council, despite the boycott of the remaining seven.
The nine members were from the Patriotic Union Kurdistan PUK, the Leadership, Al-Uruba and the Babylon blocs.
The session sparked protests from the Arab Coalition headed by the former governor Rakan Saeed al-Jiburi, the Iraqi Turkmen Front ITF led by Hassan Turan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP, which together have seven seats and are still boycotting council meetings.
Hassan Turan, ITF's complaint was filed with Sawsan Jadoua, member of Kirkuk Provincial Council, against nine members of the council representing various blocs, including Rebwar Taha, governor of Kirkuk and Muhammad Al-Hafez, provincial council speaker. Al-Jibouri filed his complaint alone against the head of the provincial council.
In this context, the Administrative Court settled the lawsuits filed by Salwa al-Mufarji and the KDP but postponed its decision on the lawsuits filed by al-Jiburi and Turan.
The content of the two complaints relates to the cancellation and invalidation of the provincial council session held on August 10 at the Rashid Hotel. If they are accepted, the governor and the council chairman may lose their positions.
Regarding the return of the opposition blocs to council meetings, al-Mufarji said in a statement she made to (KirkukNow) on September 25 that "if the Federal Court approves the legitimacy of the session held at the Rashid Hotel, they will return to consult with the blocs to which they belong, and then they will participate in the upcoming sessions.”
She explained that, as elected members, they are committed to attending the sessions because their constituents demand that they provide services."
The northern, oil-rich, ethnically mixed province of Kirkuk is home to about 1,77 million Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs. Located 238 kilometers north of Baghdad, Kirkuk has long been at the center of disputes between the federal government in Baghdad and the Erbil-based Kurdistan Regional Government KRG.