Disputes Prevent Selection Of Tamim

Juan Cole 04/16/2005

Disputes Prevent Selection of Tamim Governor (Kirkuk)

al-Zaman/ AFP: An Iraqi official in Tamim province describes the situation in the city of Kirkuk. Disputes among Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs have prevented the newly elected provincial council from being seated, and therefore they have been unable to select a governor. He said that Kirkuk is a microcosm of Iraq, and that the current tensions make the situation dangerous. The person on the street derides the politicians over the squabbling, complaining that they should be addressing problems of services such as water and electricity.

The Kurdistan list got 26 seats in the Tamim governing council, whereas the Turkmen took 9 seats and the Arabs received 6. They have so far been unable to agree on a governor for the province.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page