Kirkuk’s provincial council is set to have its first meeting on Thursday, nearly seven months after elections were held in the province.

The meeting is set to be chaired by outgoing governor Rakan al-Juboori, who on Wednesday was sworn in as a member of the council and his governorship was revoked.

According to the law, the council is supposed to elect a governor within a month after its first meeting. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani called on all parties to engage in dialogue, leading to a meeting scheduled for Thursday, chaired by the council's oldest member.

As the meeting approaches, various parties in the province have different agendas, including the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which garnered the most votes.

“Even though we have not finalized our candidate, we are insistent on our approach, as the governor position must go to the PUK,” the PUK’s public relations chief in Kirkuk Jamal Shukur told The New Region.

The PUK managed to gain five seats in the ethno-diverse province of Kirkuk. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) gained two seats, raising the total Kurdish seats to seven out of the provincial council’s 16 seats.

Arab parties gained six seats in the elections, while the Turkmen gained two.

The KDP’s objective is to ensure that the governor is Kurdish.

“We are with the idea that the governor should be Kurdish and maintain balance and be approved by all sides,” the KDP’s 3rd branch director in Kirkuk Kawa Ahmed told The New Region.

The Kurds lost control over the position following the events of October 16, 2017, where the Iraqi government entered Kirkuk using military force.

Sunni Arabs in the province appointed interim governor Juboori to replace the late Najmaddin Karim, who was appointed by the PUK.

Speaking to The New Region, Ismael Hadidi, a member of the Sunni Arab coalition in Kirkuk said that they are open for dialogue with all parties.

“We have never closed our doors in the face of dialogue, and we have not made up our minds on any specific candidate, we are waiting for the other parties,” he said.

However, Arabs seek an arrangement that would guarantee them at least two years as governor of the disputed province.

Turkmen on the other hand prefer an arrangement that would also include them, preferably as a rotation between all sides.

Speaking to The New Region, Ahmed Ramzi, an advisor to the Turkmen Front’s head, said that they will participate in the meeting and remain insistent on a rotation approach.