Iraqi Kurds abroad began casting their ballots on Saturday in a referendum on independence of the autonomous region of Kurdistan amid international opposition.
A commission in charge of the referendum process reported high participation in the electronic vote, but without giving specific figures.
“Voters have placed enormous pressure on the balloting link, resulting in technical problems,” the committee head, Handren Mohamed, said.
He said that the panel received complaints from some voters about facing technical problems in the balloting. “We are handling these problems.”
The vote is open for Iraqi Kurdish expatriates for three days. Iraqi Kurds in China were the first to vote.
The exact number of eligible voters among Iraq’s Kurds abroad is not known.
The referendum is scheduled for Monday in Kurdistan and disputed areas between Erbil and Baghdad, including the oil-rich province of Kirkuk that is ethnically mixed.
These areas are currently under Kurdish military control. Baghdad is vehemently opposed to the vote.
A delegation representing the Kurdistan Regional Government arrived on Saturday in Baghdad for talks on the referendum.
The team was expected to meet with senior Iraqi officials and politicians, a government official said without giving details.
Baghdad has condemned the referendum, calling it unilateral and unconstitutional.
The referendum has raised alarm among Iraq’s neighbours — Turkey, Iran and Syria — over concerns it could encourage their own Kurdish minorities to splinter.
Turkey has warned it may impose sanctions on Kurdistan over the plebiscite.
The UN has warned of the vote’s “potentially destabilising effect,” while the US has said it could fuel regional unrest and distract attention from ongoing campaigns to rout IS in Iraq and Syria.
President of Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, has shrugged off the warnings, telling Iraqi Kurds on Friday to be ready “to pay any price” for the long-sought independence.
While dreams of secession from Iraq go back to the early 20th century, calls for Kurdish independence gained impetus following the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Meanwhile, Kurdish leader Barzani delayed a scheduled news conference on a controversial independence referendum he has called for next week as international pressure mounts for a postponement.
There has been uncertainty about whether the vote will go ahead on Monday as Iraq’s key allies the United States and Iran, as well as powerful neighbour Turkey, have stepped up their opposition.
“The news conference will take place on Sunday and the time and venue will be announced later,” Barzani’s office said without elaborating.
“The referendum is no longer in my hands, nor is it in those of the (political) parties — it is in your hands,” Barzani told a large crowd at a football stadium in Erbil, capital of the autonomous Kurdish region.
But behind the scenes negotiations are still taking place aimed at persuading Barzani to postpone any referendum, according to officials close to the discussions. — Agencies
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