Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region plans to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on Nov. 1, the Erbil-based Rudaw TV said on Tuesday, as the Kurdish leadership cements its case for independence.
A referendum held on Sept. 25 in the country’s Kurdish-held northern regions delivered an overwhelming ‘yes’ for independence, raising fears in Iraq and abroad of ethnic strains and a weakening of a US-backed campaign against self-styled Islamic State terrorist group, news outlets reported.
The Kurdistan Regional Government, however, has not declared independence and the elections are for the parliament and presidency of the region, not for an independent state.
Baghdad retaliated to the referendum with an international flights ban on Kurdish airports, while Iran and Turkey launched joint military drills with Iraqi troops at their borders with Iraqi Kurdistan.
The government I Baghdad has rejected a KRG offer to discuss independence. It demanded Kurdish leaders cancel the result of the referendum or face continued sanctions, international isolation and possible military intervention.
Turkey Threatens Further Sanctions
Meanwhile, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Iraqi Kurds should ‘come to their senses’ following last week’s independence referendum.
“We are managing with some embargoes in northern Iraq for now, but if they don’t come to their senses, this will continue increasingly,” Erdogan said at a parliamentary meeting in Ankara on Tuesday.
“Any incident taking place in Syria and Iraq is not independent from us, they are linked directly to our domestic affairs.”
He added that the referendum was “a new attempt to strike the heart of our region with a dagger.”
Despite formerly good relations with the KRG, Turkey has been highly critical of the independence referendum.
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