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The Kirkuk status referendum was the Kirkuk part of a planned plebiscite to decide whether the disputed territories of Northern Iraq should become part of the Kurdistan Region. The referendum was initially planned for 15 November 2007,[1] but was repeatedly delayed[2][3] and ultimately never took place.[4]
The referendum was mandated by Article 140 of the Constitution of Iraq. Article 140 required that before the referendum, measures had to be taken to reverse the Arabization policy employed by the Saddam Hussein administration during the Al-Anfal Campaign. Thousands of Kurds returned to Kirkuk following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. The referendum was to decide whether enough had returned for the area to be considered Kurdish.[5]
Kurdish resentment over the government's failure to implement Article 140 was one of the reasons for the 2017 Kurdistan Region independence referendum,[6] which posed the question, "Do you want the Kurdistan Region and the Kurdistani areas outside the Region to become an independent state?"[7] The referendum led to episodes of Iraqi–Kurdish conflict and the government takeover of Kirkuk.
- ^ Iraqi Council of Ministers Presented to the Parliament by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Archived 1 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine www.export.gov/Iraq
- ^ Iran pleases Ankara, irks Kurds with call for Kirkuk poll delay, The New Anatolian, 2007-11-08, accessed on 1 March 2008
- ^ "Kirkuk, Other Iraq Issues to Be Delayed". Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
- ^ Iddon, Paul. "Iraqi Kurdistan in disarray after the loss of Kirkuk". alaraby. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ Iraq: Kurds warn against delaying Kirkuk Referendum RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
- ^ "President of Iraqi Kurdistan says independence vote is due to failure of unity". The National. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
- ^ "Kurdistan referendum commission reveals four-language sample ballot". Rudaw. Retrieved 31 October 2017.