Al-Wandawi becomes Kirkuk’s second Turkmen governor and serves until year-end

Kirkuk Provincial Council voted to select Qahtan al-Wandawi, the Iraqi Turkmen Front’s candidate, as the new governor, replacing Mohammed Samaan Agha after accepting his resignation. Al-Wandawi is Kirkuk’s second Turkmen governor and will remain in office until the end of the year under a power-sharing rotation agreement.

Kirkuk Provincial Council voted on Saturday to select Mohammed Qahtan al-Wandawi, head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front’s Kirkuk branch, as the new governor, replacing former governor Mohammed Samaan Agha, who took the constitutional oath as a minister of state in the federal government. Al-Wandawi is now Kirkuk’s second Turkmen governor.

Shafaq News correspondent said that 14 of the 15 members who attended the session voted to grant confidence to the new governor. Hassan Majid Ali, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party bloc in the council, confirmed that the council had voted by majority in favor of al-Wandawi. At the start of the session, the council accepted Samaan Agha’s resignation and opened nominations for the governorship.

Iraqi Turkmen Front candidate for Kirkuk governor Qahtan al-Wandawi

Second Turkmen governor

Samaan Agha, head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, was elected governor last April, becoming the first Turkmen to hold the position in nearly a century. Agha took the oath of office as a minister of state in Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s government on October 15. Since then, former governor Rebwar Taha had been managing the province’s affairs on an interim basis. On October 28, Agha affirmed his commitment to the power-sharing rotation agreement and his willingness to resign once a Turkmen candidate was chosen to replace him.

The council postponed its November 11 session twice before it was canceled because of political disagreements. Riyad Sari Kahya, head of the Turkmen Eli Party, said the governorship belonged to the Turkmen and that the decision had been left entirely to the Turkmen Front.

Kirkuk Provincial Council building

Power-sharing rotation agreement

The governorship is shared on a rotating basis among Kirkuk’s communities under a power-sharing agreement concluded in 2024. Rebwar Taha held the position for 20 months, from August 2024 to April 2026, after which it passed to the Turkmen community. Arab bloc member Sheikh Zahir Asi confirmed that the position would be handed to the Arab community beginning January 1, 2027, meaning the new governor will remain in office until the end of the year.

Kirkuk Provincial Council has 16 seats resulting from the December 18, 2023, elections. Seven belong to Kurdish forces—five to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and two to the Kurdistan Democratic Party—while six belong to Arab representatives, two to the Turkmen Front and one to Christians.

Photos: Kurdistan 24, social media

Al-Wandawi becomes Kirkuk’s second Turkmen governor and serves until year-end