Barzani resigns after Kurdish independence vote backfires

Monitoring Desk

ERBIL: Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani has announced his resignation from the president position on November 1 after the independence referendum backfired and triggered a regional crisis.

Barzani addressed to public through television and it was the first since the Iraqi forces initiated surprise operation to recapture Kurdish held territory on 16 October. Barzani confirmed that he will extend his presidential term after 1 November in any conditions.

He claimed that despite that he is resigning from the president position but still he is a Peshmerga (Kurdish fighter) and will always be Peshmerga and adding that he will continue to assist the people in their struggle for Independence. Barzani campaigned for Kurdish Independence for nearly four decades.

After the televised address he sent letter to parliament and advised them to fill the vacant post of president as he is resigning from the post on November 1.

The region’s parliament met in the Kurdish capital Erbil on Sunday to discuss the situation and letter of Barzani to the parliament. 70 MPs voted in favor to accept the resignation while 23 rejected the Barzani resignation.

Armed protestors stormed the parliaments and gunshots were also heard as the session was in progress and they said that they wanted to punish MPs for insulting Barzani. Some of the protestors also attacked the media persons.