PUK Kirkuk branch reiterates rejection of Rashid Hotel session on local government

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) branch in Kirkuk has reiterated its rejection of a session held at the Rashid Hotel in Baghdad to determine the city's local administration. PUK official Muhammad Kamal said the session had no legal or constitutional basis, that PUK members had not been invited, and that the decisions taken were unacceptable. Kamal noted that the PUK holds two seats on the Kirkuk Provincial Council and that the decision to attend or boycott the sessions rests with the party leadership. He added that the party's objection targets the manner in which the session was convened, not the component that assumed the post. On the question of rotating the governor's office among Kirkuk's ethnic components, Kamal said Turkmen are one of the city's original components and that placing a Turkmen in the position would be natural. The Kirkuk Provincial Council selected the province's first Turkmen governor on April 16, 2026, under the agreement reached at the Rashid Hotel. The PUK's Kirkuk branch said it would maintain its refusal of the local government sessions.