“Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani signed the decision on Thursday,” the source said, adding that Nasih will officially assume her new role on March 20.
Samko Salar, director of Bamo sub-district in Halabja province, will replace Nasih as mayor, following a proposal from the district commissioner’s office, according to the source.
Kawa Ali, former deputy governor of Halabja and current member of the Kurdistan Parliament, confirmed to Rudaw that “a request for Nasih’s appointment as governor was sent to the Ministry of Interior in January to be forwarded to the Council of Ministers for approval.”
Nasih will be replacing Azad Tofiq who is retiring under the government’s new retirement policy. Previously, the retirement age for government employees was 63, but in January, Barzani issued a directive lowering it to 60.
As a result, Tofiq - who is in his early sixties - was required to step down, creating a leadership vacancy that led to Nasih’s appointment.
Nasih was born in Halabja in 1978. From 2008 to 2015, she served as the director of Byara sub-district in Hawraman, Halabja province. In March 2016, she was appointed mayor of Halabja as a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) candidate.
