Kurdistan sets stage for referendum, unveils pact on minority rights

IRBIL, Sept 24 (KUNA) -- Kurdistan's Independent High Electoral and Referendum Commission (IHERC) said it finalized the preparations for the referendum on independence of Iraq's northern region.
IHERC Chairman Handren Mohammad said the polling stations will open at 08:00 a.m. (11:00 a.m. GMT) until 06:00 p.m. local time (09:00 GMT) tomorrow, Monday, in all provinces of the region and the areas disputed with the federal government in Baghdad, including Kirkuk.
At a press conference here Sunday evening, Mohammad expected the voting to be orderly and successful. In a related development, Kurdistan Region's High Council for the Independence Referendum announced "a political pact that would guarantee the rights of religious and ethnic components in the Region within a new independent Kurdish state." During a press conference that gathered representatives of the Region's religious and ethnic components and MPs, Ibrahim Khalil, member of the Council said the pact was meant to reassure the rights of religious and ethnic components in a new state of Kurdistan was respected.
"The pact consists of 15 articles which include the implementation of federalism in the future state of Kurdistan, Khalil said, noting that the components would be real partners within an independent Kurdistan.
"The document will be tabled to the Kurdistan Region Parliament for endorsement after further discussion and approval from the Council.
"It is written in Arabic at the request of the components and will be translated into Kurdish, English, Turkmen, Assyrian, and Armenian," he said.
President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani earlier today reiterated commitment to protection of the rights of religious and ethnic groups in the region. (pickup previous) sbr.gb