Independence referendum in Kurdistan in 2005
An independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan was held in January 2005 in the north of the North Asian country of Iraq . After unsuccessful attempts to found a state in the first half of the 20th century, the Kurds , known as the “largest nation without a country”, tried again to found their own independent state. Although an overwhelming majority of 99.88 percent preferred an independent Kurdistan , the vote was not binding. A binding referendum will not take place until the referendum on September 25, 2017 .
The referendum was prepared by the Kurdish Referendum Movement and took place at the same time as the election of the Iraqi National Assembly and the election to the Parliament of Kurdistan . Already on December 22, 2004, a non-party delegation under the care of Ardischir Raschidi-Kalhur, the President of the Kurdish American Education Society, met Carina Pirelli, the chairman of the United Nations (UN) election support department , at UN Headquarters in New York to hand over the 1,732,535 signatures supporting the call for a referendum on independence and the future of Southern Kurdistan.
Result
| area | independence | Remain in Iraq | total | Proportion of independence | Proportion remaining | |||||||||
| Kerkuk | 131,274 | 181 | 131,582 | 99.88% | 0.12% | |||||||||
| Nineve | 165.780 | 111 | 165.891 | 99.93% | 0.07% | |||||||||
| Diyala | 35,786 | 627 | 36,413 | 98.28% | 1.72% | |||||||||
| Silemani | 650,000 | 5,796 | 656.496 | 99.12% | 0.88% | |||||||||
| Hewler | 622,409 | 11,289 | 636.898 | 98.23% | 1.77% | |||||||||
| Dohuk | 368.163 | 2,247 | 370.781 | 99.39% | 0.61% | |||||||||
| total | 1,973,412 | 20,251 | 1,998,061 | 98.88% | 1.12% | |||||||||
Individual evidence
- ↑ 98 percent of the people of South Kurdistan vote for Independence. In: Indybay. Indybay, accessed September 6, 2017 .