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.svg) Location of Iraqi Kurdistan in Iraq
Official borders of the Region of Iraqi Kurdistan
Territory captured by Iraqi Kurdistan from June 2014–March 2017
Other territory claimed by Iraqi Kurdistan
Rest of Iraq | ||||
| Voting system | Single transferable vote | |||
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A non-binding independence referendum for Iraqi Kurdistan will be held on 25 September 2017. It was originally planned to be held in 2014 amidst controversy and dispute between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government of Iraq. Longstanding calls for Kurdish independence gained impetus following the Northern Iraq offensive by ISIL in which Baghdad-controlled forces abandoned some areas, which were then taken by the Peshmerga and controlled de facto by the Kurds.
The referendum was announced and delayed on several occasions as Kurdish forces co-operated with the Iraqi central government for the liberation of Mosul,but by April 2017 it was being seen as happening some time in 2017. On 7 June 2017, President Masoud Barzani held a meeting with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), the Kurdistan Islamic Movement (KIM), the Kurdistan Communist Party, the Kurdistan Toilers Party, the Kurdistan Toilers and Workers Party, the Kurdistan Development and Reform Party, the Erbil Turkmen List, the Iraqi Turkmen Front, the Turkmen Development Party, the Armenian List in the Kurdistan Parliament, the Assyrian Democratic Movement and the Assyrian Chaldean Popular Council, where the independence referendum was confirmed to be held on 25 September 2017.
Background
The Kurdistan Regional Government had criticized Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, claiming that his rule was divisive. After the central government began withholding funding to the Kurdistan Regional Government in January 2014, the KRG attempted to export oil via the northern pipeline into Turkey in May, but the Iraqi government lobbied international governments to block the export and sale of this oil.
As jihadis affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took control of much of western and northern Iraq in June 2014, the Iraqi military in those areas largely disintegrated and abandoned their positions. The Peshmerga stepped into this vacuum, taking control of the city of Kirkuk and other northern areas long claimed by the Kurdistan Regional Government but until then outside its formal control.
Nouri al-Maliki's government was widely blamed for the failure of the security forces and for Sunni Arab dissatisfaction with the central government, and international and domestic calls for a new prime minister became widespread. On 1 July, Kurdish president Masoud Barzani announced his intention to call a referendum on independence sometime in 2014 on the grounds that the country had been "effectively partitioned" already.
In September 2014, after Maliki was replaced as prime minister by Haider al-Abadi, Kurdish leaders agreed to postpone the referendum while they focused on the fight against ISIL.
On 3 February 2016, Rudaw.net reported that Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani told KRG legislators that the referendum would be held sometime before the 2016 American presidential election in early November. On 23 March, Barzani stated, in an interview with Al-Monitor media website, that the referendum would take place before October 2016. However in late October, Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechervan Barzani confirmed that the referendum would not be held until after Mosul had been liberated.
In August 2016, Haider Al-Abadi said that he saw self-determination as an "undisputed right".
News reports from December 2016 stated that Iraqi Kurdistan’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani had suggested the region could push for independence from Baghdad once the ongoing battle to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State group was complete.
In early April 2017, as the liberation of Mosul was progressing, the ruling political parties of Iraqi Kurdistan, the KDP and PUK, announced their goal of holding an independence referendum in 2017.
On 7 June 2017, Kurdish President Masoud Barzani announced that the referendum would take place on 25 September 2017.
International reactions
UN-member states
Germany: German warned Erbil taking unilateral decision, while the US said they appreciate the "legitimate aspirations" of the Kurdish people.
Turkey: The Turkish Ministry of Foreing Affairs announced that the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government's decision to hold an independence referendum would be a "grave mistake".
United States: US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said: "We support a unified, stable and a federal Iraq," said US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert. "We appreciate and understand the legitimate aspirations of the people of the Iraqi Kurdistan." Nauert warned that the referendum could distract from the final defeat of ISIS. "We have expressed our concerns to the authorities in the Kurdistan Region, but holding a referendum even a non-binding resolution at this time would distract from urgent priorities and that be the defeat of ISIS, the stabilization, the return of displaced people, managing of the region's economic crisis, and resolving the region's internal political disputes," she said.
Regional actors
Iraqi Turkmen Front: "The referendum decision is clearly against the constitution. In addition, the participation of non-Kurdish regions in the referendum is unilateral and the Arabs', Turkmens' decisions are against the wishes of the Kurds." And they also stated in a press, Iraqi Turkmen Front wouldn't recognize the referendum.
See also
References
- ^ "Iraq Kurdistan independence referendum planned". BBC News. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- Kurdistan Referendum Movement - International Committee (2005-02-08). "98 percent of the people of South Kurdistan vote for independence". KurdMedia.
- ^ "Kurds agree to postpone independence referendum". theStar.com. 2014-09-05.
- ^ "Iraqi Kurdish Leader Calls For Nonbinding Vote On Independence". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/e4536e45-41b2-49f7-8cba-bb569cb4a6d3/pm-barzani--mosul-could-be-liberated-within-three-months
- ^ "Kurdistan will hold independence referendum in 2017, senior official". Rudaw. 2017-04-02. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
- "UPDATES: Kurdistan Region to hold independence referendum on Sept 25". Rudaw. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ "Iraq crisis: Incumbent PM Maliki left out as country moves on". BBC News. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- Eli Lake (15 June 2014). "'Practically Speaking, Iraq Has Broken Apart'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- ^ "Iraqi Kurdistan profile: Timeline". BBC News. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- Keith Wallis (31 July 2014). "Kurdish oil cargo unloaded at sea, destination a mystery". Reuters. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- "Iraqi media broadly welcome new premier". BBC News. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- "Barzani: Kurdistan will hold referendum before October". Kurdistan24. 23 March 2016.
- "Iraq's PM sees Kurdish referendum as "undisputed right"". Rudaw. 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
- "Iraqi Kurdistan renews call for post-IS independence". alaraby.co.uk. The New Arab. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- "UPDATES: Kurdistan Region to hold independence referendum on Sept 25". Rudaw. 2017-06-08. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
- "Iraqi and foreign reactions to Kurdish referendum plan". Rudaw.
- "Türk Dışişleri: IKBY referandumu vahim bir hata".
- "US says it understands 'legitimate aspirations' of people in Iraqi Kurdistan".
- "Irak Türkmen Cephesi'nden Kürtlerin referandum kararına tepki".
 Elections and referendums in Kurdistan Region | |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary elections | |
| Presidential elections | |
| Governorate elections | |
| Municipal elections | |
| Referendums | |
| See also: Elections and referendums in Iraq | |