Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Friday rejected a recent political agreement in Iraq’s northern Kirkuk province that led to the appointment of a new governor, describing the process as the result of “suspicious deals”.
Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), said the move amounted to “manipulation of the will of Kirkuk voters” and arrangements conducted outside official frameworks.
The provincial council elected Mohammed Samaan Agha as governor in a session boycotted by the KDP, following the acceptance of the resignation of his predecessor Rebwar Taha.
The post has now gone to a Turkmen figure for the first time in decades. Turkmen residents celebrated in Kirkuk’s city center and streets on Thursday night following the vote.
Turkmen are Iraq’s third-largest ethnic group after Arabs and Kurds, and are spread across several provinces including Nineveh, Kirkuk, Salah al-Din, Irbil, Diyala, Baghdad and Sulaymaniyah.
Unofficial estimates put their population at more than three million.
Barzani pointed to earlier political meetings in Baghdad, including at the Rashid Hotel, that resulted in arrangements to share control of the province among rival parties and ethnic groups.
In Baghdad, Shakhawan Abdullah, head of the KDP parliamentary bloc, described the election process as “illegitimate” and reiterated his party’s rejection of what he called the “Rashid Hotel deals”, stressing the need to respect the constitution and voters’ will.
The dispute comes amid rising political tensions in Kirkuk, where the KDP has lost ground to its Kurdish rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Bafel Talabani, which has strengthened its position in the provincial council through alliances with other Iraqi factions.
Shiite leader Qais al-Khazali said the appointment of the new governor was the “result” of prior political understandings aimed at ensuring balance and partnership in running the province, adding that the agreement envisages a rotation of posts, including for Arab representatives.
Samaan Agha, for his part, stressed that his administration would represent all components of Kirkuk — Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen — and pledged to address fuel shortages, improve electricity supply and enhance public services.
He added that power-sharing would be central to local governance. PUK spokesman Karwan Kaznay said the rotation of the governorship stemmed from an agreement reached two years ago, describing the practice as a “natural democratic process”.
Oil-rich Kirkuk has long been a flashpoint between Baghdad and the Kurdistan region, with its mixed population making political balances fragile despite relative improvements in security in recent years.
