2005 Kurdistan Region independence referendum

2005 Kurdistan Region independence referendum

30 January 2005
Do you want Kurdistan to become an independent state?
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 1,973,412 98.98% No 20,251 1.02% Valid votes 1,993,663 99.78% Invalid or blank votes 4,398 0.22% Total votes 1,998,061 100.00%
Results by Governorate

An informal independence referendum for Kurdistan Region was held on 30 January 2005, with final results showing the vast majority of votes, 98.98 per cent, cast in favour of independence. Conducted by the Kurdistan Referendum Movement alongside the Iraqi parliamentary elections and Kurdistan Region elections of 2005, the referendum asked the people of Kurdistan Region whether they favoured remaining a part of Iraq or were in favour of an independent Kurdistan. ^[1]

Background

On 22 December 2004, a non-partisan delegation headed by Ardishir Rashidi-Kalhur, president of the Kurdish American Education Society met with Carina Perelli, Head of the U.N. Electoral Assistance Division and staff, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, to hand over 1,732,535 signatures, which were collected endorsing the call for an independence referendum on the future of Southern Kurdistan.

The referendum was held at the end of the term of the Iraqi Interim Government.

Impact

The referendum did not lead to the independence of Kurdistan because of threats from neighboring countries, but the Kurdistan Region was granted autonomy in the Constitution of Iraq adopted on October 15, 2005. ^[2]

Results

Area:	Independence		Stay in Iraq			Total				Independence %		Stay in Iraq %
Kirkuk:	131,274		181			131,582				99.88		0.12
Nineveh:	165,780		111			165,891				99.93		0.07
Diyala:	35,786		627			36,413				98.28		1.72
Sulaymaniyah:	650,000		5,796			656,496				99.12		0.88
Erbil:	622,409		11,289			636,898				98.23		1.77
Duhok:	368,163		2,247			370,781				99.39		0.61
Total:	1,973,412		20,251			1,998,061				98.88%		1.12%

Criticism

The referendum included two provinces Nineveh Governorate and Diyala Governorate with strong Arab majorities and Kirkuk Governorate where Kurds are a plurality and not a majority. This undercuts the results of the referendum as a true exercise of self-determination by the Kurdish people, as it included territories not predominantly inhabited by them and ignored the will of local Arab and Turkmen populations

See also

• 2017 Kurdistan Region independence referendum

References

1. Kurdistan Referendum Movement – International Committee (8 February 2005). "Press release: 98 percent of the people of South Kurdistan vote for independence". indybay.org. London, United Kingdom: San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2021.