A prominent Turkmen politician called for more representation for the Turkmen minority in Iraqi government structures.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Aydın Maruf, minister for component affairs in northern Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), said that the Turkmen hope to have a share in the upcoming Iraqi government.

Maruf, who is also a member of the executive bureau of the Iraqi Turkmen Front party, said that differences between Iraqi political parties have hindered the formation of the Iraqi government closing on nearly four months since elections were held last October.

He added that in previous Iraqi governments Iraqi Turkmen were subject to marginalization in terms of their representation in the executive authority.

Maruf said that the Turkmen were supposed to be represented in the Iraqi parliament leadership, adding that the Turkmen should also have portfolios in the Iraqi government including in the positions of deputy prime minister and vice president.

The Iraqi Turkmens, also known as Iraqi Turks, are a Turkic-speaking minority whose total population is estimated to be around 3 million. The oil-rich Irbil-Kirkuk region of northern Iraq has been a battleground for competing forces since the United States-led ouster of President Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The greater Turkmen community shares close cultural and linguistic affinities with the Turkish people.