Governor: Participating in Kurdistan Referendum nonbinding for Kirkuk

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Kirkuk Governor said that all governorate’s components participate in the referendum but they will not have to join an independent Kurdistan right away. 

“Referendum in Kirkuk does not mean joining the Kurdistan immediately. The current referendum is nonbinding for Kirkuk, but after the referendum, the people will have the chance to decide if they would like to be part of Kurdistan or Iraq,” Najmaldin Karim, the Governor of Kirkuk, told reporters.

His press conference followed a meeting with the Arab tribes of his province during which he revealed that all components in the governorate support the referendum.

Karim told reporters that various ethnic and religious groups will be free to express their opinion at the polling station, stating that they will be assured protection of rights and provision of services.

Karim also added that various ethnic groups will be able to study in their mother language. He further encouraged diverse groups to express their demands in democratic manners.

The governor revealed that he has sent a letter to Kirkuk Provincial Council to vote on the participation of the governorate in the Kurdistan Region’s referendum.

The Council will convene next Tuesday, he concluded.

Kirkuk is an oil-rich and diverse province that hosts various ethnicities and religions. For the past three years, the city, and much of the province have been under Kurdish control.

In 2014, when the Islamic State (IS) attacked, six Iraqi army divisions simply disintegrated— “melted like the snow,” in the words of Kurdish President Masoud Barzani.

At the request of Nuri al-Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister at the time, Barzani ordered the Peshmerga to step into the breach left by the Iraqi army in order to prevent the city from falling to IS.

Editing by Ava Homa