madaresharghi [1]
Iraq’s top court on Monday declared the Kurdish north’s secession referendum in September to be unconstitutional, firing a new salvo in the political crisis with the semi-autonomous region.
The legal move marked the latest stage in the dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdish regional capital, Erbil, sparked by the referendum, which resulted in a resounding ‘yes’ vote for secession in the Kurdish area, Reuters reported.
A statement said the Supreme Court “rendered a decision declaring unconstitutional the referendum held on September 25 in Iraqi Kurdistan… cancelling all the consequences and results.”
Last week, as the deadline announced by the court for its decision on the constitutionality of the referendum approached, the Kurdistan government said it “respected” the decisions taken by Iraq’s highest court.
It also said it respected a previous decision on Article 1 in the Constitution, insisting on Iraqi unity, which could be a basis for dialogue.
On Monday, the court again cited this article in its ruling, saying that the holding of the Kurdish secession referendum “contradicts and contravenes it,” spokesman Ayas al-Samuk said in the statement.
Parliament in Baghdad is currently reviewing the federal budget for the coming year, including the allocation for the Kurdish region.
Kurdish premier, Nechirvan Barzani, at a press conference in Erbil, denounced the court’s “unilateral” decision taken without consulting representatives of the semi-autonomous region.
He also said he was “ready for dialogue” with Baghdad.
Earlier, Abdel Salam Barwari, a former deputy of former Kurdish leader Massud Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party, also rejected it.
“It was a predictable decision given this court’s past and the fact that it has now become a political tool,” he told AFP.
In Baghdad, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hailed the court’s decision, saying his government “rejected this referendum and refused to have anything to do with it.”