At a Glance

• The Kirkuk Provincial Council meets on Wednesday at 8:00 PM to elect a new governor, following a four-hour delay from 4:00 PM.

• Kahtan Vendavi, head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front’s Kirkuk branch, is set to assume the post.

• Under an agreement among Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen leaders, the Turkmen will hold the governorship until the New Year.

The Kirkuk Provincial Council is scheduled to convene on Wednesday to elect a new governor, with Kahtan Vendavi of the Iraqi Turkmen Front expected to assume the post following a meeting between Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen representatives.

Key Statements and Focus Area

• During the meeting between representatives of the components, the talks focused on resolving the dispute over the Kirkuk governor's post.

• Channel8 has learned that Kahtan Vendavi, head of the Turkmen Front’s Kirkuk branch, is the candidate to assume the post of governor.

The Kirkuk Provincial Council session, originally scheduled for 4:00 PM, has been pushed back by four hours and will now convene at 8:00 PM.

The session includes two agenda items: first, the resignation of Kirkuk Governor Mohammed Sam'an Agha, and second, the election of a new governor for the city of Kirkuk.

Several scenarios had previously been floated regarding the distribution of administrative posts in Kirkuk Governorate.

One proposal would have seen the Turkmen component take over the Arab-held post of Second Deputy Governor while serving as Acting Governor, with the governorship itself granted to the Arab component without a presidential decree until the New Year—a deal the Turkmen ultimately rejected.

FYI

Under a political agreement reached among the Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen components, the Turkmen will hold the governorship until the New Year, at which point the post will transfer back to the Arab component.

Separately, an Arab member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council confirmed to Channel8 that the Arab bloc will reclaim the governor's post from the Turkmen at the start of the New Year.

Once the Arab component assumes the governorship, a broader reshuffle of administrative positions is scheduled to take place. Under the arrangement, the Kurds are set to regain several key roles, including Chair of the Kirkuk Provincial Council, Kirkuk Police Chief, and Director of the Planning Department at the Governorate Office.

The anticipated handover follows a similar rotation in April of this year, when the Kurds secured roughly 15 administrative posts as part of the power-sharing exchange between the Kurdish and Turkmen components.

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