On 25 September 2017 the people of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Kurdistani areas exercised their democratic right to vote in a referendum on the question of independence from the rest of Iraq. In a statement released Wednesday, 27 September 2017, the Kurdistan Region’s Independent High Elections and Referendum Commission (IHERC) declared that the ‘Yes’ vote had won with 92.73 percent.
Commenting on the turnout, the IHERC specified that out of the 4,581,255 eligible voters, 3,305,925 people cast their vote, amounting to 72.16 percent. The referendum was monitored by international and domestic observers. In a subsequent press conference, international observers remarked that the referendum process was organized in a peaceful, transparent, free and open fashion.
The results of the referendum are not an automatic declaration of independence; rather they provide the Kurdistan Region’s Government with a mandate to start peaceful secession negotiations with the central government of Iraq.
Below is a chart of initial results
| Eligible voters | 4,581,255 |
| People who voted | 3,305,925 |
| Yes votes | 2,861,471 |
| No votes | 224,468 |
| Spoiled votes | 170,611 |
| Blank votes | 9,368 |
Source: The Independent High Elections and Referendum Commission (IHERC)