HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region on Wednesday announced it would hold a referendum on independence, in a move the central government in Baghdad is likely to oppose strongly.

The Kurdish political parties, except Change Movement (Gorran) and Kurdistan Islamic Group KIG (Komal), came to an agreement on Wednesday to hold referendum on September 25 this year on the Kurdistan Region’s independence.

“I am pleased to announce that the date for the independence referendum has been set for Monday, Sept. 25, 2017,” Kurdistan Democratic Party KDP leader Massoud Barzani said on Twitter.

Hawrami said the question put to voters would be “do you want an independent Kurdistan?”

Barzani’s assistant Hemin Hawrami tweeted that voting would take place in the disputed region of Kirkuk and three other areas also claimed by the central government; Makhmour in the north, Sinjar in the northwest and Khanaqin in the east.

During a meeting headed by Massoud Barzani, representatives of fifteen Kurdish political parties and the region’s Independent High Electoral Commission held talks on referendum, Kurdistan Parliament stalemate and political crisis.

Party representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of holding referendum on Iraqi Kurdistan Region’s independence on September 25, 2017, according to the Kurdistan Region Presidency (KRP) official website.

Parties were in agreement to “Work towards reactivating the parliament and resolving political issues in an aim to achieve national harmony.”

“It was emphasized that the maintenance and financial problems of the Kurdistan people, employees and needy people to be tackled,” the KRP reported.

The Kurdish political parties were commanded to appoint their representatives to fill up members of a referendum committee in a six-day period.

Meanwhile, a source from the Kurdistan Region’s Independent High Electoral Commission told NRT that the commission will be able to prepare for referendum election on the date parties agreed on.

The crises inside Iraqi Kurdistan deepened in August 2015 following the expiration of Massoud Barzani’s term as president as he refused to step down and remains unofficially in office. According to the law, Barzani cannot run for presidency anymore.

Barzani has closed the Kurdish parliament in October 2015 after parliament’s Speaker Yusuf Mohammed Sadiq was prevented by Barzani forces from entering the Kurdish capital of Erbil.

The Kurdish opposition accuses Barzani and his KDP of using the independence issue as means to stay in power and monopoly it.

Kurdistan PM Nechirvan Barzani has removed four members of his cabinet from the Change Movement and replaced them with KDP politicians.

The president of Iraq’s ruling Shi’ite coalition told Reuters in April it would oppose a Kurdish referendum. Ammar al-Hakim especially warned the Kurds against any move to annex oil-rich Kirkuk.

A senior Kurdish official, Hoshiyar Zebari, told Reuters in April the expected “yes” vote would strengthen the Kurds’ hand in talks on self-determination with Baghdad and would not mean automatically declaring independence.

Kurdistan considered as the most corrupted part of Iraq. According to Kurdish lawmakers billions of dollars are missing from Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil revenues.

A Kurdish lawmaker said in March 2017 the amount of $1.266 billion from oil exports and Iraqi Kurdistan’s revenue has gone missing over the last three months.

Iraqi Kurdistan officials including Massoud Barzani clan, Jalal Talabani family and PUK leaders have long been accused by the opposition and observers of corruption or taking government money.

KDP leader Massoud Barzani has been accused by critics of amassing huge wealth for his family instead of serving the population. Barzani’s son is the Kurdistan region’s intelligence chief and his nephew Nechirvan Barzani is the prime minister.

Lack of control mechanisms and closed parliament in Iraqi Kurdistan makes it a paradise for illegal financial activities by the Kurdish ruling leaders.

FEAR OF SEPARATISM

Iraq’s majority Shi’ite Arab community mainly live in the south while the Kurds and the Sunni Arabs inhabit different areas of the north. The center around Baghdad is mixed.

The idea of Iraqi Kurdish independence has been historically opposed by Iraq and neighboring Iran, Turkey and Syria, as they fear separatism spreading to their own Kurdish populations.

Kurdish officials will visiting Baghdad and neighboring states to discuss the referendum plan, Erbil-based TV Rudaw said, adding that elections for the Kurdish regional parliament are planned for Nov. 6.

Iraq has been led by Shi’ites since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, by the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

The Kurds have their own armed force, the Peshmerga, which considered as militias loyal and taking orders from the ruling parties, the KDP led by Massoud Barzani and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK.

The oil rich Kirkuk city in Iraq’s north is claimed by both Iraq’s central government and the country’s Kurdish region.

The Peshmerga forces took full control of Kirkuk after the Islamic State insurgency in Iraq in 2014 and the withdrawal of Iraqi army form the province and some other northern region of the state, including second-biggest city of Mosul. They are effectively running the region, also claimed by Turkmen and Arabs.

Hardline Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi’ite militias have threatened to expel the Kurds by force from this region and other disputed areas.

The Sinjar region is populated by Yazidis, the followers of an ancient religion who speak a Kurdish language and the group most persecuted by Islamic State. Makhmour is south of the Kurdish capital Erbil and Khanaqin is near the border with Iran.

Kirkuk’s Kurdish-led provincial council earlier this year rejected a resolution by the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad to lower Kurdish flags which since March have been flown alongside Iraqi flags on public buildings in the region.

Masrour Barzani, head of the Security Council of KDP-controlled areas and son of Massoud, said in June last year Iraq should be divided into separate Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurdish entities to prevent further sectarian bloodshed.