The Turkmens of ethnically diverse Kirkuk province in Iraq finally feel that they are coming into their own, sensing a new beginning after being subjected to Arabization policies under President Saddam Hussein's regime and then to Kurdish domination after he was toppled in 2003. The tide turned after Baghdad rejected the September 2017 Kurdish independence referendum and forcibly reclaimed Kirkuk from the Kurds the following month.
For the Turkmens, Iraq's most recent nationwide parliamentary elections, held May 12, were an opportunity to begin to translate their desire of increasing their influence in Kirkuk and the region into concrete gains. The province's Kurds, dejected after last year's setbacks, lacked enthusiasm for the elections, while the Turkmens' organized an impressive turn out.
