Kurdish referendum | 'yes' to independence

YES to independence wins by more than 92% in the Kurdish referendum

The High Electoral Commission of Iraqi Kurdistan announced Wednesday that more than 92% of voters said yes in the referendum of independence held on in the autonomous region, despite opposition from the central government of Baghdad and the international community. 

At a press conference in the Kurdish capital Erbil, representatives of the body said that 92.73% of the 4 million people who went to the polls supported independence, with a participation rate of 72.16%. In addition, 7.27% voted "No" and 1.21% were void votes in the consultation that took place in the autonomous region and disputed territories between the Kurdish government and Iraqi, such as Kirkuk province. 

Mohammad stressed that the electoral process "was successfully and without problems or irregularities" and that international observers who came to oversee the consultation witnessed this. 

The head of the commission stressed that the results will be considered definitive when they are confirmed by the Court of Appeals of Kurdistan, but did not detail the date. The Kurdish authorities stressed in recent days that independence would not be declared after the results were known, but that they were willing to talk to Baghdad about "outstanding issues", including the Government of territories that are administratively Iraqi, but are under control of Kurdish forces. 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi called the Kurdish authorities to overturn the referendum and to discuss, based on the Iraqi Constitution, that the country is a federal state.