Iraqi PM: Kurdistan’s independence illegal, not constitutional

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Prime Minister said on Tuesday that Kurdistan’s independence referendum is not mentioned in the Constitution and will not deal with its results.

The Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi in a broadcasted weekly speech expressed his government’s opposition to Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum.

Abadi said that there is no article mentioned in the Iraqi Constitution that talks about holding referendum in the Kurdistan Region, warning that the move will have negative effects on both Baghdad and Erbil.

Abadi said his government is ready to talk with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and revealed that a delegation from the Kurdistan Region would visit Baghdad in near future for that purpose.  

Abadi said that a united Iraq is better for everyone, giving the example of the ‘good coordination’ between Kurdistan’s Peshmerga forces and the Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State (IS).

“Going towards that direction [independence] will have a negative effect on Iraq because whatever happens in Kurdistan will affect the rest of Iraq and we want to avoid that,” Abadi said.

The Kurdistan Region President in a recent statement said that there are dozens of examples where the Iraqi government did not abide by the Constitution approved by the Iraqi people.

He stated that the Constitution clearly says that abidance by the laws is a guarantor of Iraq’s unity.

Editing by Ava Homa