Peregraf- The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced on Monday that it will end its two-year boycott of the Kirkuk Provincial Council and participate in the council’s session later today.
Speaking at a press conference, the KDP faction said its decision was based on two factors: responding to its supporters, who wanted the party to represent them inside the council, and fulfilling what it described as a political responsibility following requests from other political blocs for the KDP to return.
The KDP has boycotted the council since its inaugural session in August 2024, objecting to the formation of Kirkuk’s local government and the allocation of the governor and council chairman positions.
On August 10, 2024, nine council members met at Baghdad’s Rasheed Hotel and elected Rebwar Taha of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) as governor and Mohammed Hafidh of the Arab bloc as council chairman. The session was attended by five PUK members, three Arab members, and the council’s Christian representative.
The KDP’s two council members, along with three Arab members and two Turkmen members, boycotted the meeting, calling it illegal. Legal challenges filed with Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court were later rejected.
The political landscape shifted on April 16, 2026, when Mohammed Samaan was elected governor, becoming the first Turkmen to hold the post after Rebwar Taha resigned under a power-sharing agreement among the Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen blocs.
The KDP’s return restores the participation of all major political components in the Kirkuk Provincial Council after nearly two years of political deadlock.