SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region —Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid issued a decree on Tuesday, appointing Rebwar Taha, a Kurdish member of the Provincial Council from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), as the new governor of Kirkuk.
The appointment follows Taha’s nomination by the Provincial Council just three days prior, during a session in Baghdad.
This move comes after nearly eight months of contentious local elections, with significant disputes among Kirkuk’s diverse communities—Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians—over local governance.
Rakan al-Jabouri, the former governor and current council member from the Arab bloc, criticized the council for excluding Arab representatives from the decision-making process. He accused the council of betraying the Arab community by not informing them of the session where Taha was elected.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which had also been vying for the governor’s position, condemned the appointment. The KDP labeled the process “illegal and problematic,” calling for a “genuine and inclusive approach” to address Kirkuk’s complex issues and rejecting what it views as exclusionary tactics.
The Turkmen Front party also opposed Taha’s appointment. Chairman Hassan Turan warned that the new appointment fails to address the underlying tensions in Kirkuk.
In a press conference, Turan stressed the need for unity among the city’s diverse communities, arguing that redistributing political positions alone will not resolve the ongoing crisis.
