The appointment of a Turkmen governor in Iraq’s oil-rich Kirkuk is anything but routine, not least because it marks the first time in nearly a century that the post has gone to a figure from the Turkmen community.

As questions mount over the future of Iraq’s Sunni-majority provinces in the aftermath of the U.S.-Israeli War on Iran, most Sunni political leaders remain notably absent.

Judge Faiq Zaidan, a figure close to Iran, has recently emerged in the open amid infighting within the Shiite camp, particularly over objections to Nouri al-Maliki’s bid to return as prime minister.

Over three consecutive meetings, Iraq’s National Sunni Political Council has failed to agree on a single candidate for the post of parliament speaker, the highest office representing the Sunni bloc under the country’s political norms since 2003.

All Sunni parties that won seats in the Iraqi election announced the formation of the National Political Council, positioning it as a unified umbrella similar to the Shiite Coordination Framework.