Nine years on: Kurdistan's independence referendum

Rastinews — The September 25 independence referendum, one of the defining moments in the Kurdistan Region's recent political history, marks its ninth anniversary.

On September 25, 2017, polling stations opened across the Kurdistan Region and in several disputed Kurdistani territories, most notably Kirkuk.

Voters were asked: "Do you want the Kurdistan Region and the Kurdistani areas outside the Region's administration to become an independent state?"

Vote called on June 7

The process leading to the referendum was formalized at a meeting in Erbil on June 7, 2017.

Then-Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani chaired the meeting, attended by government officials and representatives of political parties and factions, where it was decided to hold the independence referendum on September 25, 2017.

The Kurdistan Parliament backed the vote by majority in a session on September 15.

The decision came amid ongoing disputes between Erbil and Baghdad over the budget, oil and natural resource management, power-sharing, and the status of disputed territories under Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution.

Article 140 had set a deadline of the end of 2007 for resolving the status of disputed territories. That process was never completed, and the status of Kirkuk in particular remained a central point of contention between Erbil and Baghdad.

92.73 percent voted "Yes"

Millions of voters cast ballots on September 25, 2017.

According to official results, 3,305,925 of 4,581,255 registered voters took part, a turnout of 72.16 percent.

Of the valid votes, 2,861,471 — or 92.73 percent — were cast in favor of independence, while 224,464 voters said "No."

The referendum did not amount to a declaration of independence. The Kurdistan Region administration at the time treated the result as a political mandate from voters to open negotiations with Baghdad on independence.

Baghdad rejected the vote

Iraq's federal government rejected the referendum and refused to recognize its results. The United States and numerous other countries also opposed the timing of the vote and called for dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad.

Relations between Erbil and Baghdad deteriorated rapidly in its aftermath.

Iraq's Federal Supreme Court ruled in November 2017 that the referendum violated the Iraqi constitution and that its results had no legal standing.

October 16 and Kirkuk

About three weeks after the referendum, on October 16, 2017, Iraqi federal forces and Hashd al-Shaabi units advanced into Kirkuk and surrounding areas.

Peshmerga forces withdrew from positions in Kirkuk and some other disputed territories. The change of control in Kirkuk became one of the most critical developments to follow the referendum.

After October 16, actual control over several disputed areas that had been under Peshmerga control since 2014 shifted significantly.

These developments carried the political and economic disputes that predated the referendum into a new phase between Erbil and Baghdad.

From September 25 to today

No independent Kurdish state emerged after the referendum. Relations between Erbil and Baghdad later returned to a negotiating track, but the budget, oil, salaries, federal powers, and the status of disputed territories remained the core points of contention between the two sides.

Even so, the result of the September 25, 2017 vote has remained a key reference point in the Kurdistan Region's recent political history.

Today, September 25, 2026, marks exactly nine years since the referendum.

Nine years ago, more than 3.3 million voters went to the polls, and 92.73 percent of them voted "Yes" to independence. Although the referendum did not result in the founding of an independent state, September 25 remains the date on which the demand for Kurdish independence was put to a vote in the region's recent political history.