Resumen de Why Kirkuk Matters
The third Iraqi elections since the end of the US occupation arrive in a context of slow but progressive recovery of Iraq and its institutions.
The formation of a coalition government is likely to take months, crippling the provision of public services and slowing down reconstruction and reconciliation efforts.
Fragmentation is being met with rising cross-sectarian tendencies in all major lists. It is a new, promising phenomenon that might modulate ethnic and sectarian cleavages and encourage new multi-party dynamics beyond identity politics.
Kirkuk will certainly be present at the bargaining table for the creation of a coalition federal government.
Kurds often refer to Kirkuk as their Jerusalem. For Arabs, having Kirkuk under Baghdad’s control represents Iraqi unity.
As for the Turkmen, Kirkuk is a symbol of their position as a significant ethnicity in Iraq.
According to some experts, the implementation of a special status for Kirkuk would alleviate sectarian grievances and legitimise local leadership, providing the time and context needed to start working towards a locally compromised solution for the status of the province.
The federal government of Iraq and the KRG engaged in a contest over the control of Kirkuk’s oil.
The lack of a coordinated electoral strategy in the main political Kurdish parties will certainly diminish their influence in Baghdad.
