Kirkuk expects 900.000 voters in Kurdish independence vote

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Kirkuk is expecting more than 900.000 voters to attend the vote on Kurdistan Region’s independence from Iraq, the electoral office in the province said Wednesday.

Office director Ali al-Shawani told Alsumaria News that nearly 926.000 voters will attend at 43 voting units across the province, including at refugee camps.

Kurdistan Region slated a vote on independence from the central government in Baghdad for September 25th, and has, since then, defied calls from Baghdad to postpone the measure.

Kurdistan gained autonomous governance based on the 2005 constitution, 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.

Baghdad and Erbil have for long disputed sovereignty over oil-rich Kirkuk. The province’s governor stirred a political crisis in March when he decided to raise Kurdish flags above government buildings there, and vowed to back independence from Iraq.

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