ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kirkuk Governor Rebwar Taha is set to resign during an extraordinary session of the Kirkuk Provincial Council scheduled for Thursday, with sources suggesting that he will be replaced with Mohammad Samaan, head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front.

“We invite you to hold an urgent meeting of the Kirkuk Governorate Council on Thursday 4/16/2026 at 12:00 PM in the meeting hall of the Governorate Council,” read the Council’s document obtained by The New Region.

The meeting agenda includes “reviewing the resignation of Governor Rebwar Taha” and “appointing a Governor of Kirkuk to replace the resigned governor,” according to the document seen by The New Region.

Taha’s position is set to be replaced by Mohammad Samaan, head of the Turkmen Front, informed sources told The New Region.

Samaan’s appointment will see the first Turkmen to hold the post since 1924. 

Taha was elected the governor of Kirkuk in a meeting on August 10, 2024 that was attended by five Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) members, three Arabs, and a Christian quota representative. The decision came months after the country held provincial council elections in 2023. 

The appointment of PUK's Taha meant the return of the position to Kurds for the first time since 2017.

Speaking to The New Region, Abdullah Mirwais, a PUK member in the Kirkuk Provincial Council, addressed reports that Taha will become the deputy governor of the province, stating that they had received no prior notice regarding the meeting and were not informed regarding the process.

“We were suddenly alerted that there is a provincial meeting tomorrow, we don’t know how the positions will be distributed,” Mirwais said.

In the November elections, Taha was heading the PUK list in Kirkuk and received 96,000 votes, more votes than any candidate in Iraq, including Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, whose alliance came first place in the country.

In a November presser, Taha assured people who were worried that the governor would abandon his position in the province and join the Iraqi parliament, stating, “I assure them that I am not going to Baghdad in any way. I will be in Kirkuk, and I will serve all the people of Kirkuk.”

Recent developments point to a shift in party policy regarding the governorship.

Kirkuk falls under Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, which mandates a process to outline a clear and definitive boundary in the disputed areas by introducing a referendum to determine the will of the residents living on the lands. The implementation of the article has been continuously delayed by the successive Iraqi federal governments.

On October 16, 2017, the Kurds lost control over Kirkuk and other disputed territories after a military offensive by the Iraqi government was conducted in the province, bringing it under the rule of Baghdad. The Kurdish authorities have continuously pledged the eventual return of the lost territory.