Zebari says Kurds to open talks with Shiites over Iraq government

Kurdish candidate in Kirkuk wins the race for governor, news reports say

Info
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
ANKARA - Iraqi Kurds and Shiite groups will soon launch post-election talks over sharing government posts, Iraqi interim Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said yesterday.

Info"Kurds will assume key posts in the new government, Zebari was quoted as saying by private NTV television. Partial results from Iraqi elections, held on Jan. 30, have shown that the Kurds have moved to second place, following Shiites, who are estimated to make up 60 percent of the Iraqi population.

Zebari, a Kurd, said Kurds would win 75-85 seats in the Iraqi National Assembly, predicting 130-140 seats for the Shiites.

Kurdish parties, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have reached a deal, under which KDP leader Massoud Barzani would lead the autonomous Kurdistan region, while PUK leader Jalal Talabani would seek a presidential or prime ministerial post in Baghdad.
Kurdish governor for Kirkuk:

News reports also said that Iraqi Kurds won local polls in the disputed city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq. Abdurrahman Mustafa, the candidate backed by Kurdish parties, won the race for governor in the city, NTV said. Mustafa won 281,000 votes out of 325,000 in the oil-rich city, while votes for Turkmen parties remained at 25,000. Vote counting still continues in some parts of the city but the number of uncounted votes is not large enough to change the overall balance.