ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) late Wednesday slammed as “irresponsible” the remarks by the Turkmen governor of disputed Kirkuk downplaying Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, with Kurds having long called for its implementation. 

In an interview with Iraqi state media, Kirkuk Governor Mehmet Seman – leader of the Iraqi Turkmen Front – answered “Article 140” to a question titled “the biggest strategic mistake the Iraqi state has made regarding Kirkuk since 2003.” 

Seman stressed that the Turkmens “rejected the constitution at the time because we believed it [Article 140] would cause problems in the future, and it did cause problems,” referencing the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum, despite a landslide 92.7 percent in favor of secession from Iraq. 

The KDP’s Kirkuk-Garmiyan Organization Office slammed Seman’s remarks as “irresponsible” and “an attempt to stir sedition,” stressing, “The constitution and Article 140 have laid out a correct and contemporary roadmap for resolving and eliminating disputes in Kirkuk province and other areas of Iraq.” 

“The governor of Kirkuk's irresponsible statements claiming that Article 140 of the constitution no longer exists amount to invalidating and nullifying the constitution. He himself knows well that if the constitution ceases to exist, it means Iraq as a state is rendered void and ceases to be,” the KDP said. 

Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution requires the reversal of the Baaathist regime’s Arabization policies and mandates a process to outline a clear and definitive boundary in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad - including Kirkuk - by introducing a referendum to determine the will of the residents living on the lands.

According to the constitution, no changes can be made to disputed territories until Article 140 is implemented.

Although the article specifies that this process must be completed by no later than December 31, 2007, successive Iraqi governments have failed to implement the constitutional article for nearly two decades.

Kurdish authorities have for years criticized Baghdad and accused the federal government of lacking the political will to implement the article.

The KDP has long called for the article’s implementation. In December, the party held a high-level meeting in which they called on Baghdad to resolve constitutional disputes – chief of which is Article 140. 

Seman was elected as Kirkuk’s governor in mid-April after Rebwar Taha of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) stepped down as part of a deal with Arab parties in a controversial Baghdad meeting in August 2024 that was boycotted by the KDP. 

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.