Kurds in Iraq vote in historic referendum for independence

washingtonpost.com - IRBIL, Iraq — Kurds packed polling stations across northern Iraq on Monday in a historic referendum on independence despite vigorous opposition from the country’s central government as well as regional and world powers.

Church bells tolled and imams implored Kurds to go out and vote over mosque loudspeakers when polls opened across the Kurdish region, a wide swath of mountains, oil fields and desert that has been run as a semiautonomous enclave for decades.

Local news showed prominent Kurdish figures casting their ballots, proudly displaying the purple voter mark on their fingers in what they described as a national duty to begin the slow process of secession from the Iraqi state.

The poll is expected to produce an overwhelming “yes” vote that many Kurds see as the culmination of a century-long and bloody struggle for self-determination. Kurdish authorities said 3.9 million people are eligible to vote. Irbil-based Rudaw TV said turnout reached at least 76 percent with long lines at some polling stations, citing election officials.

Results could be expected within 72 hours of polls closing at 6 p.m. Monday (11 a.m. Eastern time).

But there are fears that the vote could set off another unpredictable and destabilizing cascade across the region.

Neighboring Turkey and Iran worry that Iraq Kurdish secession could further embolden their own Kurdish minorities, including a separatist faction that has fought Turkish forces since the 1980s.

The United States, traditionally a strong ally of Iraq’s Kurds, has said the timing of the referendum threatens the fight against the Islamic State amid claims that the militant group is on its last legs. U.S. officials also worry that the Kurdish move will weaken Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ahead of national elections next year while empowering sectarian political forces.

For his part, Abadi tried up to the last minute to block the vote, and Iraqi leaders insist they will not recognize the outcome — setting up a potential political standoff.

But Iraq Kurds appeared intent on sending a powerful message as a distinct political force with a culture, language and history of their own. Many voters perceived the referendum as a symbol of their unity and separate political path, rather than an immediate separation from Iraq. (ontinueReading

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