Kurds voted in independence referendum, results in three days

Kurds voted on Monday in a referendum on the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan, ignoring pressure from Baghdad, threats from Turkey and Iran, and international warnings that holding the referendum could lead to further complication of the situation in the Middle East, writes Patria agency.

Kurdish television Rudaw, based in Erbil, announced that voter turnout in the referendum was 78 percent of 5.2 million eligible voters. The referendum results will be announced in three days.

The ballot read "Do you want the Kurdistan Region and the Kurdish regions outside the region to become an independent state." A huge majority is expected to vote YES.

The referendum is non-binding, primarily intended to confirm the mandate of the Kurdish regional government leader Masoud Barzani to negotiate the independence of this oil-rich region.

Kurds are the largest nation in the world without their own state, and according to data from the Kurdish Institute in Paris, about 45 million of them live worldwide. 

- We have seen the worst things, we have seen injustices, murders and blockades - said one voter in the capital, Erbil. 

In the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk, Kurds sang and danced as they went to the polls.

The Kurdish referendum has caused completely opposite sentiments in the rest of Iraq and neighboring countries.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called the Kurdish referendum "unconstitutional" on state television and said that the Iraqi government will not accept its result, nor will the international community.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan announced the imminent closure of the land border with Iraqi Kurdistan and threatened to stop oil exports through Turkey.