Turkmen Democratic Movement says ready to participate in next govt.

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: The Turkmen Democratic Movement in Kurdistan has announced its readiness to participate in the next regional government, saying that Turkmen will hold one ministerial portfolio. “We had met with Barham Saleh and Azad Barwari before they were officially assigned by the region’s president to form a new government in order to become acquainted with the nature of the next government. We stressed the necessity of a Turkman participation and we were asked to put forward a candidate for one ministerial portfolio, which will be allocated for the Turkmen,” the head of the movement, Karkhi Barmakh, told Iraqi News. President of Iraq’s Kurdistan region Massoud al-Barazani assigned Prime Minister Barham Saleh and his deputy Azad Barwari to form a new government for the region more than two months after parliamentary and presidential elections were held in the northern region. The Turkmen Democratic Movement holds three seats in the Kurdish Parliament; the Turkmen Reform List, led by Abdulqadir Bazrakan, holds one seat; while the Arbil Turkmen List, has one seat in the 111-member council. The new government, the sixth in the region since it was officially recognized as an autonomous entity in 1991 and the second since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, is expected to include 19 ministers, in addition to the prime minister and his deputy. SS (S) 1