BAGHAD (Dispatches) – The Iraqi parliament has voted to oppose a referendum on the independence of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
The majority of Iraqi lawmakers voted against the referendum — planned by Kurdistan Regional Government — during a parliament session on Tuesday.
The vote prompted Kurdish lawmakers to quit the parliament floor.
Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri said the vote made it incumbent on the government to "take all steps to protect the unity of Iraq and open a serious dialog” with Kurdish officials.
Prior to the vote, MP Ammar Toma had warned that the "unconstitutional” referendum would cause security and societal problems in Iraq and push the country into a state of chaos.
The Kurdish referendum is scheduled for September 25, but the central government in Baghdad is opposed to the vote.
Regional players like Iran and Turkey have also voiced concern about the planned referendum, arguing that it could create further instability in the region.
The provincial council in Iraq’s ethnically mixed and oil-rich northern province of Kirkuk voted to take part in late next month's Kurdish independence referendum irrespective of Baghdad government’s strong opposition to the planned vote.
On Tuesday, 22 of the 24 present councilors in the 41-member Kirkuk council voted in favor of holding the referendum.
Speaking to journalists afterwards, Kirkuk governor Najm Eddine Karim described the vote as a "historic event.”
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi described the vote by Kirkuk provincial council as a wrong move, adding that the planned referendum is illegal and worthless.
Iraqi government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi also lambasted the vote as "illegal and unconstitutional.”
"Provinces that don't belong to the semi-autonomous region (of Kurdistan) can't impose decisions without the federal government's approval, and Kirkuk is one of these regions,” he pointed out.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has also denounced Kirkuk provincial council’s decision as "a serious violation of the Iraqi constitution.”