92% of Kurdish voters choose independence from Iraq

More than 92 per cent of Kurdish voters chose independence from Baghdad’s central government, Kurdish election monitors said on Wednesday.
Hendrin Mohammed, head of the Iraqi Kurdish region’s election commission, announced the official results at a press conference, saying the referendum passed with 92.73 per cent support and a turnout of more than 72 per cent.
The vote was held across the autonomous Kurdish region’s three provinces, Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah, as well as in some disputed territories controlled by Kurdish forces but claimed by Baghdad, including Kirkuk.
Mr Mohammed said the “counting of votes was complete and that results would be considered final once they are certified by the Kurdish region’s department of justice”.
The non-binding referendum is unlikely to lead to formal independence, but it has escalated long-running tensions with Baghdad.