The electoral campaign for the referendum on the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan, scheduled for 25th of this month, opened today. The campaign will end on 22 September and according to the Erbil Electoral Commission there will be 5,5 million people entitled to vote. There will also be voting in some cities controlled by Kurdish Peshmerga forces such as Kirkuk. The Kirkuk Electoral Office announced today that over 900 people have the right to vote in the province, where 43 polling stations have been set up. The Electoral Commission and the Referendum Commission have completed all preparations for the consultation in the Kurdistan region, said Ali Al Shawani, director of the Kirkuk election office. 926 voters from the province (of Kirkuk) will participate in the vote. The Provincial Council of Kirkuk last August 29 voted in favor of participating in the referendum for the independence of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan to be held on September 25th. The vote was attended by 26 directors out of a total of 41, equal to 67 percent of the Board, a number which guaranteed the quorum of 51 percent necessary for the validity of the vote. The meeting was boycotted by part of the Arab and Turkmen minorities. They voted in favor of motion 24
councilors, while two abstained. The votes in favor also included those of some representatives
minorities: two Turkmen, three Arabs and a Christian. The Kurkuk Provincial Council is dominated by the two
Kurdish parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (Puk) and the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (Kdp) which together
they hold 26 seats. The other parties that make up the Council are the Turkmen Front with 8 seats, the Party
Iraqi republican of the Arab minority, with 5 seats. The remaining two seats are occupied by the Islamic and Turkmen Coalition and the National Assembly. The Turkmen Front, which together with the Arab component boycotted the meeting, is strongly opposed to the organization of the referendum on Kurdish independence in the Kirkuk region. Interviewed by "Rudaw" at the end of July, the leader of the Turkmen Front, Arshad Salihi, observed that the main request to the Kurdish component is to exclude the areas disputed with the central government of Baghdad, in particular those with a Turkmen majority, from a possible referendum for the accession of the province of Kirkuk to a future state of Kurdistan. Despite being controlled by the Kurds since 2014 (at the time of the first phase of the war against the Islamic State, which is still present in the southern district of Hawija), the province of Kirkuk is formally under the control of the Iraqi federal government of Baghdad. Last March the Provincial Council had voted on a provision that allowed the possibility of hoisting the Kurdish flag on local administrative buildings alongside the national one; the Iraqi Administrative Court, however, overturned that decision in mid-August. Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, approved in 2005, provides for a referendum to be held in the Arabized areas (Kirkuk, Khanaqin, Sinjar, Sheikhan) so that the inhabitants can decide whether or not to annex the Kurdistan region. It was supposed to take place at the end of 2007, then in June 2018, in December 2010 but it has always been postponed. On August 20, Karim reiterated to the special representative of the UN Secretary General in Iraq, Jan Kubis, that the province intends to participate in the referendum on the independence of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. Located on horseback
between the Sunni-majority province of Salah al Din and Iraqi Kurdistan, in the governorate of Kirkuk is
extracted the oil subject to a dispute between Baghdad and Erbil. Last March the Provincial Council had
approved a provision that allowed the possibility of hoisting the Kurdish flag on local administrative buildings
next to the national one; the Iraqi Administrative Court, however, overturned that decision halfway through
August. On 22 August, President Barzani stressed that the decision on the independence of the autonomous region of Kurdistan from Iraq rests with the Kurdish people. Speaking in an official speech given during a meeting with some regional officials, the Kurdish leader declared that the referendum "is a decision of the people of the Kurdistan region", adding that those who oppose the popular consultation are against the will of the citizens. If relations with Baghdad worsen, added the Kurdish president, the
federal government could ask for the withdrawal of Peshmerga forces from disputed areas where they have positioned themselves in recent years in the context of the war against the Islamic State (IS). In Kirkuk (north of Baghdad), in particular,
the Peshmerga have taken over the management of security since 2014, the year of the beginning of the advance of IS in
northern Iraq. After years of dreading it, the leaders of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan have
set a date for the first time for the referendum on independence from Baghdad. Kurdish President Barzani announced on 7 June that the consultation is scheduled for 25 September. However, many unknowns weigh on the issue, first of all possible concrete actions by the Baghdad government against the referendum. Another unknown is that relating to the disputed area of Kirkuk, south of Erbil, where there are also important oil fields. In this context, the position of Turkey must also be considered, which despite having good relations with the Barzani, has confirmed that it is strongly opposed to an independent Iraqi Kurdistan, given its internal problems with the Kurdistan Workers' Party.
