KDP, PUK agree on need to appoint a Kurdish governor for Kirkuk
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Sunday agreed on the need to appoint a Kurdish governor for Kirkuk, a position highly sought by the province’s Arab and Turkmen parties as well.
PUK leader Bafel Talabani led his party’s delegation in a meeting in Sulaimani’s Dabashan where the KDP representation was instead headed by politburo secretary Fazel Mirani. The parties discussed resolving disputes, salary issues, the need to preserve the Region’s political entity, and the issue of appointing Kirkuk’s local administration.
“We agreed, at this stage and for the interest of the people of Kirkuk province with all its ethnicities, that a Kurdish governor is appointed to serve the people of the city and districts,” said the parties in a joint statement following the meeting.
Kirkuk’s top Kurdish parties earned a combined seven spots on the 16-seat council in December’s local elections: the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has five seats, and the KDP has two.
Arabs have six seats on the council and the Turkmens have two. They are expected to join forces within the council, forming a strong eight-seat opposition challenging the Kurds’ ambition to return a Kurdish governor to the province.
The two Kurdish parties have seven seats on the council. The winner of the minority quota, Injeel al-Barwari, is reportedly linked to the PUK, which could mean the council is evenly split if the Kurdish parties can work together, but that remains uncertain as they are feuding over economic and governance issues in the Kurdistan Region and have not cooperated in Kirkuk for years.
The joint statement also announced that the two parties agreed to work with the federal government on a high level to address the outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad, mainly the need to provide civil servant salaries.
The Iraqi government in January decided in a cabinet meeting to pay 618 billion dinars (about $471 million) to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to cover public servant salaries. The KRG announced having received the amount on Thursday. The sum is set to be subtracted from Erbil’s share in the federal budget.
The KRG has repeatedly claimed that it needs over 900 billion dinars per month to pay civil servant salaries.
The frequent delay in paying salaries, which has been an issue for the cash-strapped KRG for nearly a decade, has exacerbated the concerns of civil servants, many of whom have no other source of income.
PUK leader Bafel Talabani led his party’s delegation in a meeting in Sulaimani’s Dabashan where the KDP representation was instead headed by politburo secretary Fazel Mirani. The parties discussed resolving disputes, salary issues, the need to preserve the Region’s political entity, and the issue of appointing Kirkuk’s local administration.
“We agreed, at this stage and for the interest of the people of Kirkuk province with all its ethnicities, that a Kurdish governor is appointed to serve the people of the city and districts,” said the parties in a joint statement following the meeting.
Kirkuk’s top Kurdish parties earned a combined seven spots on the 16-seat council in December’s local elections: the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has five seats, and the KDP has two.
Arabs have six seats on the council and the Turkmens have two. They are expected to join forces within the council, forming a strong eight-seat opposition challenging the Kurds’ ambition to return a Kurdish governor to the province.
The two Kurdish parties have seven seats on the council. The winner of the minority quota, Injeel al-Barwari, is reportedly linked to the PUK, which could mean the council is evenly split if the Kurdish parties can work together, but that remains uncertain as they are feuding over economic and governance issues in the Kurdistan Region and have not cooperated in Kirkuk for years.
The joint statement also announced that the two parties agreed to work with the federal government on a high level to address the outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad, mainly the need to provide civil servant salaries.
The Iraqi government in January decided in a cabinet meeting to pay 618 billion dinars (about $471 million) to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to cover public servant salaries. The KRG announced having received the amount on Thursday. The sum is set to be subtracted from Erbil’s share in the federal budget.
The KRG has repeatedly claimed that it needs over 900 billion dinars per month to pay civil servant salaries.
The frequent delay in paying salaries, which has been an issue for the cash-strapped KRG for nearly a decade, has exacerbated the concerns of civil servants, many of whom have no other source of income.