Peregraf — Kirkuk Governor and President of the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) Muhammed Seman Ağa said on July 31, 2026, that his position as governor came about through the "will" of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, remarks that have drawn criticism from Kurdish observers over the erosion of Kurdish executive influence in the disputed province.
Speaking at the Administrative Board Meeting of the Union of Turkish World Municipalities (TDBB) in Karaman — a session that also marked Kirkuk Municipality's formal admission to the union — Seman Ağa credited President Erdoğan and the ruling People's Alliance (AKP-MHP coalition) for his rise to the governorship, describing it as the return of a Turkmen governor to Kirkuk after 102 years.
A Deal Struck in Baghdad, Rejected by the KDP
Kirkuk's governorship has changed hands repeatedly amid the long-running rivalry between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Najmiddin Karim, the province's last PUK governor before the current period, was removed from office following the events of October 2017.
On August 10, 2024, at Baghdad's Rasheed Hotel, the PUK reached a power-sharing deal with two Arab blocs and the Babylon Movement, securing a nine-seat majority on the 16-member Kirkuk Provincial Council and electing PUK's Rebwar Taha as governor. The KDP, along with the ITF and the Arab Alliance, boycotted the session and rejected the deal, calling it procedurally improper. Taha assumed office on August 14, 2024.
The ITF and Arab Alliance later ended their boycotts and returned to council sessions. The KDP did not, maintaining its boycott for nearly two years as the sole holdout, and continued to reject the legitimacy of the Rasheed Hotel arrangement.
Power Passes to the ITF
As an informal understanding to eventually rotate the governorship to a Turkmen figure approached its deadline, Taha resigned in April 2026. On April 16, 2026, the council convened with 14 of its 16 members present — the KDP's two seats again absent — and 12 voted to accept Taha's resignation and elect ITF president Muhammed Seman Ağa as his successor. Seman Ağa officially assumed office on April 21, 2026; Taha subsequently became Deputy Governor of Kirkuk on April 28, 2026, a post he continues to hold.
Ankara's Role and Reaction
Seman Ağa's July 31 remarks in Karaman, crediting his position directly to President Erdoğan's "will" and the backing of the AKP-MHP People's Alliance, have drawn criticism from Kurdish observers who see them as confirmation of growing Turkish influence over Kirkuk's administration. The Karaman meeting concluded with the signing of a protocol for a "People's Garden" (Millet Bahçesi) project in Kirkuk, led by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and Konya Municipality — a project some Kurdish residents view as part of a broader Turkish soft-power push in the city.