ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kirkuk’s new governor on Wednesday called on dissenting council members to end their boycott of the provincial administration as Turkmens and some Kurds and Arabs continue their protest of the governor’s controversial nomination. “The council has sent official letters to them to take part in meetings,” Governor Rebwar Taha said during a news conference in the city on Wednesday. A months-long deadlock over forming Kirkuk’s provincial administration was brought to an end in a controversial manner on August 10, when the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) five members and four provincial councilors allied with the party held an unannounced meeting in Baghdad and appointed Taha as governor and Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hafidh, a Sunni Arab politician, as provincial council chief. Both have officially assumed those positions. No council members from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Turkmen Front, or the Arab Alliance were present during the meeting in Baghdad. These parties declared that council session illegal and have boycotted subsequent provincial council meetings. Taha, a Kurd and member of the PUK, said that posts dedicated for the boycotting parties will not be filled by others. “The positions will remain vacant until candidates are submitted, but we continue our work,” he said. Among the vacant positions are five assistants, a deputy, and seven advisors of the governor. “We want to be together in the local government,” Taha said, adding that they want to serve the province fairly and bring about “true coexistence.”
