People & Histories
25 September 2017

The Kurdistan independence referendum

Iraqi Kurds vote overwhelmingly for independence, but Baghdad, Ankara and Tehran respond with force and blockade, and the Kurds lose Kirkuk.

Well established statehoodself-ruleborders

Riding on the prestige of the war against ISIS and in control of Kirkuk, KRG President Masoud Barzani called a non-binding referendum on independence for 25 September 2017, in the Kurdistan Region and in disputed areas held by the peshmerga. Almost every foreign government, including the US, urged him to postpone it.

About 93% of voters said yes, on a turnout of about 72%.

The response was swift. Baghdad closed the region’s airports to international flights, and Turkey and Iran threatened sanctions. On 16 October Iraqi forces and Shia militias moved on Kirkuk, and PUK-aligned peshmerga withdrew under a deal the KDP called treason. The Kurds lost Kirkuk and much of the disputed territory within days.

  • The Cambridge History of the Kurds — Hamit Bozarslan, Cengiz Gunes and Veli Yadirgi (eds), Cambridge University Press (2021)
Barzani stepped down as regional president that November. Many Kurds remain proud that they voted; many also see the episode as a lesson in the limits of Kurdish power, and it deepened KDP–PUK distrust.
  • The Cambridge History of the Kurds — Hamit Bozarslan, Cengiz Gunes and Veli Yadirgi (eds), Cambridge University Press (2021)

How it's seen
Kurdistan Regional Government view

A peaceful, democratic exercise of the right to self-determination after Baghdad had repeatedly violated the constitution, including by cutting the region's budget.

Iraqi government view

An unconstitutional vote that threatened Iraq's unity, especially because it was held in disputed areas such as Kirkuk; Iraq's Supreme Court later declared it unconstitutional.

  • The Cambridge History of the Kurds — Hamit Bozarslan, Cengiz Gunes and Veli Yadirgi (eds), Cambridge University Press (2021)

Why it matters today

Kurds

For many Kurds the vote was a historic statement that they want a state of their own. Its aftermath showed how far the region's powers, and the West, will go to stop one. Raise it gently: for many it is a source of pride, for others a costly gamble by the KDP leadership.