Kurdistan Region floats referendum plans

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is set to hold a vote on independence on September 25, international media quoted high-ranking officials as saying on Thursday.

The plans for a referendum have been confirmed through social channels by various other government figures. The September date was communicated to Bloomberg by Kifah Mahmoud, advisor to KRG President Massoud Barzani. The move is to be followed by parliamentary and presidential elections on November 6.

The head of the KRG’s Department of Foreign Relations, Falah Mustafa, took to Twitter, saying the outreach to the public would be the first “step towards a peaceful independence.”

Using the same platform, another advisor to Barzani, Hemim Hawrami, said the Kurds would also vote on the status of Kirkuk, as well as other disputed areas such as Khanqin, Sinjar and Makhmor.

Plans for a referendum on independence from Baghdad are not new, and announcements to that end are often used to test the waters or, alternatively, as a tool to spur the federal government into action on contentious issues.