The establishment of Kirkuk provincial administration—excluding Turkmens, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and some Arab groups—has raised questions of legitimacy. In this context, the political equation that emerged in the aftermath of the provincial assembly elections held in December 2023 has led to debates over ethnic representation, power struggles involving regional actors, and crises concerning the functioning of the assembly. As a result, Kirkuk has become not only one of the most contested and multi-identity provinces in Iraq but also a geopolitical deadlock where the interests of regional and global actors such as Türkiye, Iran and the U.S. overlap. Thus, the local governance crises in Kirkuk are not developments isolated to the province but instead influence the dynamics shaping Iraq’s political balance and broader regional geopolitical competition. This article examines the formation process of the local administration in Kirkuk, the political alliances that emerged in this process, the problems of ethnic representation, the impact of foreign interventions, blockages in the functioning of the parliament, and the security and representation risk this process poses for the Turkmen community. In addition, it evaluates the new security scenarios that emerged following the terrorist organization PKK’s decision to dissolve itself, and its possible effects on the demographic structure. The future of the Kirkuk Provincial Council’s dysfunctional structure should be considered not only as a local governance issue but also as a critical factorfor the political stability of Iraq and the sustainability of its multi-identity social fabric.
