Head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front Salihi: It is impossible to create a local government in Kirkuk without Turkmens
Head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front Salihi: It is impossible to create a local government in Kirkuk without Turkmens
Ershad Salihi, the head of the Kirkuk parliament from the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC), said that a local government cannot be formed in Kirkuk without Turkmens after the local elections on December 18.
In his statement to the AA correspondent, Salihi said: "The new administration in Kirkuk must be joint."
Stating that security and stability in Kirkuk can be ensured through a joint administration, Salihi noted that they want the new local government to be from Turkmen as governor or chairman of the regional council.
Noting that Kirkuk is a city where Turkmens live intensively, Salihi said: "Despite all the demographic changes, no one can deny that Kirkuk is a Turkic city. Local self-government in Kirkuk cannot be created without Turkmens."
The election policy of the Turkmen must be reviewed
Salihi stated that Turkmens "did not participate and should not participate in the games of regionalism and sectarianism that have been waged throughout Iraq for years," and that Turkmens who did not get the desired results in the last local elections should reconsider their electoral policy.
Kirkuk MP Salihi stressed that today Turkmens need to gather under one roof, as they did yesterday, to protect their existence in Iraq and play an active role in the administration.
The lack of updating of the voter lists affected the Turkmen vote
Salihi, the head of the Turkmen faction in the Iraqi parliament, said that the Turkmen did not receive the expected results from the local elections held on December 18.
Noting that there are important factors influencing the results, especially in Kirkuk, Salihi said that the lack of verification of voter lists directly affects the results.
According to Salihi, 260,000 voters from northern cities that are not residents of Kirkuk took part in the voting, which negatively affected the weight of Turkmen votes and the balance of the elections.
Salihi said they had taken the matter to the Iraqi Federal Court before the elections, but had not received the expected response, which made the Turkmen even more desperate.
Turkmens should take their rightful place in the new administration
Salihi said that an administration without Turkmens in Kirkuk is unthinkable, and continued as follows:
"Turkmens must act in accordance with their interests in the new administration in order to protect their national heritage. We must pursue a long-term policy. If we don't take this seriously, we will lose the right to win the next parliamentary elections."
Local elections in Kirkuk after 18 years
In Iraq, where the federal administration operates, people went to the polls in local elections on December 18, 2023, 10 years later across the country, with the exception of PKK cities, and 18 years in Kirkuk.
In the Kirkuk elections, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) took first place with the most votes (5 seats), the Arabs took second place, and the Joint List of Iraqi Turkmen took third place with 2 council members. While the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) was in fourth place with 2 mandates, the total number of Arab seats in Kirkuk was 6, and the Christian-owned Babiliuni electoral list received one quota seat.
