Tuesday, 10 October, 2017 , 16:07
On 25 September 2017 a referendum on the independence of Kurdistan was held in the three governorates (Erbil, Suleimanieh and Duhok) of the Kurdistan Region and in the territories of Iraqi Kurdistan administratively located outside this region where provincial or territorial councils had voted in favor of holding this consultation.
The poll was organized by the Independent High Electoral Commission of Kurdistan, created by a law passed by the Kurdistan Parliament. The representatives of all the political parties in Kurdistan, including of course those of the opposition, take place on this High Commission. After more than three months of technical preparations, it recruited about 60,000 temporary agents to ensure the proper conduct of the poll.
The lists of electors were posted at the entrance of the polling stations to be consulted by everyone. The electors whose name was on the list presented themselves at the polling station corresponding to the alphabetical order of their name, presented their identity card, signed the corresponding box of the electoral register, received a ballot and an envelope, returned to the voting booth to make their choice and came to deposit their ballot in the urn before dipping their index finger in an inkwell containing an indelible ink to avoid multiple votes. Deputy returning officers representing political parties were present at all polling stations.
The ballot paper, written in four languages used in Kurdistan (Kurdish, Aramaic, Arabic and Turkmen), reads: "Do you want the Kurdistan Region and the Kurdistan territories outside this region to become an independent state?"
After the counting of the votes and the examination of the possible disputes, the Commission made public the official results during a press conference Wednesday, September 27 at 17h, in the presence of all its members, of numerous journalists and international observers.
Here are the official results of the referendum:
Registered: 4,581,248
Voters: 3,305,925
Participation rate: 72.16%
White votes: 40,011
Invalid, invalid votes: 179.979
Valid votes: 3,085,935
"Yes" to independence: 2,861,471 (92.73%)
"No" to independence: 224,464 (7.25%)
The Iraqi Kurdish diaspora also participated in the ballot by electronic vote. Out of 98,000 votes, nearly 12,000 were invalidated due to non-compliant or expired documents (identity card, passport). The "yes" score among voters in the diaspora reached 99.13%.
In the so-called disputed territories, located outside the Kurdistan Region, the mobilization of the Kurds has been massive. About a third of Arab and Turkmen voters in these territories also participated in the vote despite calls for boycotts of some parties in their community.
Finally, let us recall that in some Arab localities of the province of Kirkuk, like Hawija, 70.000 inhabitants, the vote was not organized and that had a significant incidence on the participation rate.
The referendum campaign in which the "yes" and "no" supporters were able to express themselves freely, organize meetings and rallies did not give rise to any incidents or violence, in a country still at war against Daech.
International observers including the former Foreign Ministers of France and Croatia, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia, the former Minister of Public Security of Quebec, deputies, academics, former ambassadors and representatives NGOs, gave a press conference at the headquarters of the High Electoral Commission to testify to the regularity and sincerity of the poll and the referendum process.
