ERBIL — Defying pressure from the United States and regional powers Turkey and Iran, millions of Kurds cast their ballots today in a historic referendum on long-fought Kurdish independence.
Massoud Barzani, president of Iraqi Kurdistan, who is leading the independence drive, exuded confidence after voting at a polling station close to the presidential compound overlooking Erbil, where the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) sits. As election observers looked on, his eldest son, Masrour, chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council, was up next, dipping his index finger in the indelible indigo ink meant to prevent repeat balloting.