ERBIL () — Kosrat Rasul Ali, former Vice President of the Kurdistan Region, on Friday commemorated the ninth anniversary of the Kurdistan Region independence referendum, describing it as “one of the happiest historic days” of his life.
In a Facebook video marking the anniversary, Rasul said it was a source of “immense pride” that he had been entrusted with overseeing the referendum in Kirkuk and other Kurdistani areas as a “national and patriotic duty.”
“It is a source of immense pride for me and one of the happiest historic days of my life that I was entrusted with overseeing the referendum in Kirkuk and our Kurdistani areas as a national and patriotic duty,” Rasul wrote.
He described the referendum as a “historic and rare event,” saying the people of Kirkuk and the other Kurdistani areas participated in the vote and reaffirmed their Kurdistani identity.
Nine years ago, on September 25, 2017, people in the Kurdistan Region and Kurdistani areas outside the Region’s administration voted on independence from Iraq. More than 92 percent of participating voters cast their ballots in favor of independence.
The referendum was held following a decision reached on June 7, 2017, when senior representatives of Kurdish political parties and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), along with President Masoud Barzani and other senior officials, agreed to hold the vote and established a High Council to oversee the process.
Citizens across the Kurdistan Region marked the ninth anniversary on Thursday by sharing photographs and memories from the referendum campaign and voting day on social media.
