Disputes Prevent Selection Of Tamim

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.