Iraqi Kurdistan, a semi-independent autonomous region since 1992, has been seeking an endorsement of its constitution for seven years now. Political differences between the ruling and opposition parties, however, have prevented the draft constitution from being put to a referendum after the regional parliament approved the draft in 2009.
The Kurdish region elected a parliament and formed a government independent of Baghdad in 1992. This was done under the protection of the international coalition that was formed to drive the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait in 1991. Since Hussein's overthrow in 2003, Iraqi Kurds have participated in developing Iraq's political process and in the writing its federal constitution. Although this constitution provides for a federal region, the two sides have yet to agree on a special constitution for the region of Kurdistan.
