AA photo.
Iraq’s parliament has elected a candidate from the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) to a minister of state position for the first time, as part of votes to fill vacant deputy premierships and ministerial posts in the cabinet.
ITF leader Mohammed Samaan Agha, who was elected Kirkuk governor in April for the first time in 100 years, has been appointed minister of state by the Iraqi parliament.
Agha is expected to submit his resignation as governor to the Kirkuk Provincial Council on Oct. 19.
The Iraqi Turkmen Front will then nominate three candidates to the provincial council, one of whom will be elected as the next governor of Kirkuk.
Under a power-sharing agreement reached among Turkmen, Kurdish and Arab political coalitions in Kirkuk, the governorship is to remain in Turkmen hands until the end of this year.
In a social media post written in Turkish, Agha said: “May this appointment bring blessings to Iraq and our Turkmen people. God willing, we will fulfill our duties properly. May God not let us down!”
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Oct. 15 that his cabinet formation was complete, five months after his government took office, after parliament approved 11 ministers and three deputy prime ministers.
“In five months since the government was formed, the vabinet lineup has been completed and the vacant portfolios have been filled,” Zaidi said in a statement.
He said the government would now move quickly to implement its priorities and program.
The announcement came after parliament held a session attended by 261 lawmakers and voted on nominees for vacant and newly created ministries.
