Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Baghdad

Kurdistan’s parliament convenes for first time in two years, approves referendum

 Kurdistan’s parliament convenes for first time in two years, approves referendum

A man holds the Kurdish flag on September 4, 2011 during a demonstration in Stockholm against operations by Iran and Turkey against Kurdish separatist rebels in Iraq. AFP PHOTO /JONATHAN NACKSTRAND (Photo credit should read JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images)

A man holds the Kurdish flag on September 4, 2011 during a demonstration in Stockholm against operations by Iran and Turkey against Kurdish separatist rebels in Iraq. AFP PHOTO /JONATHAN NACKSTRAND (Photo credit should read JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images)

Erbil (IraqiNews.com) The Kurdish parliament voted yes in consensus on holding the independence referendum on September 25th as scheduled, during a session held on Friday evening, AlSumaria reported.

The parliament recommended that the elections commission holds the referendum in the region as well as the disputed areas on the scheduled time.

The session was the first one of the Kurdish parliament in two years.

Baghdad regularly argued the referendum, saying it was untimely as the country struggles to drive out Islamic State militants who first emerged in 2014 to proclaim their self-styled caliphate covering parts of Iraq and Syria. However, Kurdistan says the referendum, agreed on during a local political meeting early June, was not binding.

In June, Abadi said in a statement “The federal government will not partake, support or fund the referendum on the Kurdish region’s independence from Iraq,” Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi said in a statement last in June.

According to the 2005 constitution, Kurdistan gained autonomy, but is still considered a part of Iraq. The region was created in 1970 based on an agreement with the Iraqi government, ending years of conflicts.

Since military campaign against Islamic State was launched in October, political conflicts broke out between both governments in Iraq and Erbil over regions recaptured by Kurdish Peshmerga troops from IS.

Leave a Reply