Iraqi Turkmen Front to await top court's ruling on controversial election of Kirkuk governor

A member of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC) said Monday that a recent meeting of the Kirkuk provincial council at which a new governor and council speaker were elected was illegal and they would await a decision by the country's top court on the matter.

“We were surprised that after more than seven months of local elections, the Kirkuk local government's situation is being handled in Baghdad,” said Ersat Salihi in a statement.

The meeting, held Saturday at Baghdad's Al-Rasheed Hotel, excluded key ethnic groups, including Turkmen.

Emphasizing that they would not abandon the Kirkuk issue, Salihi added: “We will wait for the outcome of the ITC's application to the Federal Court for the annulment of the Kirkuk governorship and council speaker election."

The ITC had filed a petition with Iraq's highest judicial authority, the Federal Supreme Court, to annul the election.

Later in the day, the ITC also called for a protest against the new local administration in Kirkuk, which excludes the representation of Turkmen in the Kirkuk governorate and provincial council.

Objections were raised against the fact that the elections for the Kirkuk governorate and provincial council presidencies were held in Baghdad and that Turkmen were not represented, said the ITC in a statement.

The ITC said they do not recognize the meeting and voting outcome and announced that they will organize a protest on Tuesday.

The statement called on all Turkmen to participate in the protest, which is scheduled for Tuesday evening in front of the Kirkuk governorate building, in order to address this injustice against the Turkmen, who are a fundamental element of Iraq and Kirkuk.

On Aug. 10, members of the Kirkuk Provincial Council, including five members from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), three Arabs and one Christian, gathered at a hotel in Baghdad to vote for the governorship and council speaker positions.

The participants supported PUK member Rebvar Taha for the governorship and Arab member Mohammed Hafiz for the council speaker position.

The PUK claimed in a statement that Taha was elected governor.

Turkmen, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) members and three Arab members of the Kirkuk Council boycotted the vote and did not attend the meeting.

The Kirkuk Provincial Council consists of 16 seats.