BAGHDAD – The Supreme Court of Iraq declared the September’s referendum on independence in the autonomous Kurdish areas in north Iraq unconstitutional.
A court’s spokesperson said that the ruling of the top court was final and the power of this ruling ‘should now cancel all the results of the referendum’.
The court had already ruled on Nov. 6 that no region or province could secede to which the Kurdistan Regional Government said it would respect the verdict.
The referendum held on September 25 saw a landslide ‘yes’ vote for independence in the Kurdish area defying the central government in Baghdad as well as neighbouring Turkey and Iran who have their own Kurdish minorities.
Earlier, Baghdad dismissed an offer from Iraqi Kurdish leaders to freeze the outcome of the referendum and hold talks prompting the UN Security Council to press the Iraqi government and regional leaders in Kurdistan to set a timetable for talks to end the crisis.
Rejecting the freeze offer, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi instead demanded the annulment of the independence vote.
The decision came at a time when the Parliament in Baghdad is currently reviewing the federal budget for the coming year, including the allocation for the autonomous Kurdish region.
September’s referendum was initiated by then Kurdish leader Massud Barzani, for whom the repercussions were severe.
Barzani at the beginning of November announced he was stepping aside, leaving the dispute unsolved between Kurdish capital Arbil and Baghdad.
The Kurds also lost all of the oil resources in Kirkuk province that could have ensured the viability of a hypothetical Kurdish state.
