The Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP insists on canceling the process by which the heads of administrative units were elected in Nineveh Governorate, and filed a complaint with the Federal Court, identifying itself as an opposition within the Ninawa Provincial Council.
On July 2, the Nineveh Provincial Council voted, in the presence of more than half of its members, 16 out of 29, to elect the heads of administrative units for seven districts and 13 sub-districts, in a session that was boycotted by members of the KDP bloc and the Nineveh Unified Alliance, which decided to suspend their membership in the council.
Ahmed Kiki, head of the KDP Bloc in the Provincial Council, told (KirkukNow), “We filed a complaint in the Federal Court in protest against what happened in the provincial council session and are awaiting the court’s decision, in order to take our next step, but now we are with the United Nineveh Alliance in opposition and will not participate in the council meetings.” ".
Kiki stressed that their other demands include changing the president and vice president of the council because they “violated the bylaws by holding the council session,” without explaining what the violation was.
The Presidency of the Council was elected months ago as part of a single package with the positions of the governor and his two deputies, according to an agreement between all the blocs, including the Nineveh Unified Alliance.
The Kurds have six seats in the current provincial council of Nineveh (four for the KDP and two for the PUK) out of 29 seats, so they have only the post of the first deputy governor, while they previously had a council speaker and deputy governor.
We demand a change in the presidency
The Provincial Council is divided into two fronts, one of which is the Nineveh Future Alliance with 16 seats out of 29 seats in the Council, and includes the pro-Shiite Coordinative Framework Forces, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK bloc, Sunni members and three minority quota members.
The other front is represented by the Unified Nineveh Alliance and the KDP, with 13 seats, all of whom are Sunnis.
Muhammad Jassim, head of the PUK bloc in the Nineveh Provincial Council, told Kirkuk Now, “As long as the Kurdistan Democratic Party file a complaint, let it wait for the result, but the session was legal by all standards. The majority of members participated and it is normal for some parties to act as opposition.”
The remaining administrative positions are scheduled to be decided according to the same procedures, according to Jassim.
Under the Iraqi Provincial Law, due to the absence of district councils, the powers to identify and elect candidates for the positions of mayors and sub-district directors devolve on the provincial council.
