Iraq: Kirkuk province to vote in Kurdish independence referendum | Reuters

Iraq’s oil-producing region of Kirkuk will vote in a referendum on Kurdish independence on Sept. 25, its provisional council decided on Tuesday, a move that could increase tension with Arab and Turkmen residents. The ethnically mixed region is claimed by both the central government in Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq. The vote is “definitely happening” on Sept. 25, Kirkuk Governor Najmuddin Kareem told Reuters after a majority of the provincial council voted in favor of taking part. Only 24 of the 41 council members attended Tuesday’s vote, with 23 voting in favor of participating in the referendum. One abstained.

Spain: Catalonia plans to hold an independence vote whether Spain lets it or not | The Economist

The production was as dramatic as any other the National Theatre in Barcelona has seen. There, on July 4th, the president of Catalonia’s government, Carles Puigdemont, announced plans to hold a unilateral referendum on independence from Spain on October 1st. The draft law he unveiled says that, whatever the turnout, if those voting in favour outnumber those against, within 48 hours the Catalan parliament will declare independence. To Mr Puigdemont’s supporters, this is a national epic. To Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s conservative prime minister, it is “authoritarian delirium”. He is determined that it should not take place. Mr Puigdemont’s push follows five years of secessionist agitation in Catalonia, one of Spain’s richest regions, whose 7.5m people make up 16% of its population.

Iraq: An uncertain referendum for Iraqi Kurdistan | Arab News

The Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government’s (KRG) President Masoud Barzani announced on June 7 that a referendum will be held in Iraqi Kurdistan on Sept. 25 this year. It will be a non-binding referendum — meaning that the proclamation of independence will be left to the discretion of the Kurdish leaders even if the outcome of the referendum is in favor of independence. An independent Kurdistan has always been an aspiration of many Kurds, be they in Iraq, Iran, Turkey or Syria. Barzani played his cards as cautiously as possible by not going too fast. This caution may be due to several reasons: The subsidies that he was receiving from Baghdad, being worried of solation in the international arena, advantages of holding various offices in Baghdad, etc. He kept saying that Kurds have their right to independence and that they will use it when the time comes.

Iraq: Iraqi Kurds plan independence referendum on Sept. 25 | Reuters

Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region on Wednesday announced it would hold a referendum on independence, in a move the central government in Baghdad is likely to oppose strongly. “I am pleased to announce that the date for the independence referendum has been set for Monday, Sept. 25, 2017,” Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani said on Twitter. Barzani’s assistant Hemin Hawrami tweeted that voting would take place in the disputed region of Kirkuk and three other areas also claimed by the central government; Makhmour in the north, Sinjar in the northwest and Khanaqin in the east. The president of Iraq’s ruling Shi’ite coalition told Reuters in April it would oppose a Kurdish referendum. Ammar al-Hakim especially warned the Kurds against any move to annex oil-rich Kirkuk. The referendum date was set after a meeting of Kurdish political parties chaired by Barzani, who heads the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

United Kingdom: Independence is an unwanted election challenge for Scottish nationalists | Reuters

Calum Kerr, a parliamentarian from the Scottish National Party (SNP), is having to work hard to get his message across. As he defends a wafer-thin majority in Britain’s June 8 election, he wants to focus on issues directly affecting his farming constituency bordering England, with its struggling economy that may suffer further when Britain leaves the European Union. But those issues are being drowned out by the often shrill debate about Scotland’s right to another vote on independence from Britain. Scots rejected secession by 10 points in a 2014 referendum and polls show most still do not support it. “This election is not about independence at all,” said Kerr, who wants to get away from the topic as he campaigns for votes. “It’s about getting the voice of the Borders heard and it is all about Brexit, which is amplified in the rural context.”

United Kingdom: Scottish Parliament passes motion in favor of referendum on independence | The Washington Post

The Scottish Parliament on Tuesday voted in favor of seeking another referendum on independence, setting the stage for a clash between the British prime minister and the first minister of Scotland. The motion in the semiautonomous Scottish Parliament had been widely expected to pass, with the minority Scottish National Party government and the Scottish Greens supporting it. Advocates for Scottish independence now have parliamentary authority for a referendum. But holding a binding referendum still requires approval from the British government. Prime Minister Theresa May has not ruled out a second referendum, but she has rejected the proposed timetable. The Scottish motion calls for a vote by spring 2019.

United Kingdom: Theresa May dismisses calls for a border poll on a united Ireland | Independent

British Prime Minister Theresa May has said it is not the right time for Ireland to hold a border poll on independence.
Ms May said parties in Northern Ireland should instead be focused on reforming the Executive in the country after the collapse of power sharing. The prospect of a united Ireland has risen as a result of Brexit and the decision by Taoiseach Enda Kenny to announce a referendum to extend voting rights to Irish emigrants. But the Democratic Unionist Party has again reiterated its opposition to a referendum on a united Ireland. DUP MP Nigel Dodds accused Sinn Féin of causing further “uncertainty and division” by its fresh calls for a border poll on Irish unity.

Spain: Court condemns former Catalan chief for vote on independence | Associated Press

Former Catalonia regional government chief Artur Mas is facing a two-year ban from holding public office for going ahead with a vote on the region’s independence from Spain despite a ruling against it, a court in Barcelona ruled Monday. The judge also required him to pay a fine of 36,500 euros ($38,900) and disqualified from politics for 21 and 18 months respectively two of his aides, former regional vice president Joana Ortega and education councilor Irene Rigau. The three former officials will appeal the ban to the Supreme Court and are prepared to take the case to European courts, said Mas in remarks following the verdict adding that he doesn’t trust justice in the country.

Spain: Ex-Catalan leader on trial for holding vote on independence | Associated Press

The former head of Catalonia’s regional government and two of his aides went on trial Monday in Barcelona for ignoring a Constitutional ban and going ahead with a vote on the region’s independence from Spain. The five-day trial is likely to inflame longstanding tensions between the central government and the supporters of separatism in the wealthy northeastern region of 7.5 million people. Artur Mas, who stepped down as president of the regional government last year, faces a 10-year ban from holding public office for disobedience and wrongdoing.

China: Peaceful Hong Kong localists triumph over militants in Legislative Council elections | South China Morning Post

They may all be identified as localists advocating self-determination for Hong Kong, but those advocating peaceful means have performed better in the Legislative Council elections than those taking a “militant” approach. Of the two dozen localist candidates, those who call for “democratic self-determination” have emerged as the big winners. They include “king of votes” Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, Occupy Central student leader Nathan Law Kwun-chung and university lecturer Lau Siu-lai. The three, running in different constituencies, bagged a total of 173,122 votes. New Legco likely to mean more fractures – and an even less friendly approach to Hong Kong and mainland governments

China: In Hong Kong, Young Protest Leaders Win Seats in Local Elections | The New York Times

A group of young people committed to rewriting the rules that govern Hong Kong’s relationship with China were swept into office on Sunday in elections for the city’s legislature, lifted by record voter turnout, according to a government vote tally. Some of the young protesters who took part in Hong Kong’s enormous 2014 pro-democracy demonstrations will now wield a small measure of real political power for the first time. The failure of that movement to secure major democratic reforms in Hong Kong, a former British colony, and fears that the city’s considerable autonomy was under assault led these candidates to campaign on everything from self-determination to the outright independence of Hong Kong from mainland China. Their success signals the emergence of a new political force. Until now, the pro-democracy forces in the city have been dominated by politicians who sought to expand the power of voters to select the city’s leaders and lawmakers under the guidance of the mini-constitution that codifies Hong Kong’s special relationship with mainland China, called “one country, two systems.”

China: Young activists take on China in key Hong Kong election | AFP

When Hong Kong goes to the polls on Sunday a new brand of politician pushing for a complete break from Beijing will be fighting for votes in a frustrated and divided city. It is the most important election since the mass “Umbrella Movement” pro-democracy rallies of 2014, which failed to win political reform despite huge numbers and a global spotlight. Since then, fears have grown that Beijing is tightening its grip in many areas of the semi-autonomous city — from politics to education and media. Some young activists now say there is only one choice: a declaration of independence from China. Many residents still dismiss the idea as a pipe dream, but the independence movement has gathered momentum as authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing rail against it.

China: The complex design of Hong Kong’s legislative elections ensure that nothing will change | Hong Kong Free Press

The bans against six candidates for advocating Hong Kong independence have added a new dimension to the coming September 4 Legislative Council election. Suddenly, everyone is talking about the prospect, whereas before it was just another of those far-out ideas that local conservatives think college students dream up to waste time and make trouble for the authorities. But for all the anxiety over a possible post-Occupy pro-independence radical surge on September 4, preliminary polling suggests there may be only minimal change in the Legislative Council’s balance of political forces once the dust settles. For one thing, the council’s design makes anything else almost impossible. The 70-seat body is so thoroughly spliced and diced that it would take a true tsunami-like wave election to make much difference in its political composition.

China: Hong Kong politicians seek independence from China in 2047 | The Economic Times

The run-up to the Sept. 4 election for Legislative Council is getting tense, and the governments of both Hong Kong and Beijing are watching with keen interest. For the first time, a crop of fresh-faced candidates who cut their political teeth during the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in 2014 are hoping to bring to the lawmaking body their battle to emancipate Hong Kong from Beijing’s increasingly authoritarian control. The activists, most of whom are in their 20s, no longer believe in the promises of the “one country, two systems” principle set out in the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution since Britain handed the territory back to China in 1997.

China: Pro-independence candidate banned from Hong Kong election | Nikkei Asian Review

Edward Leung, a member of pro-independence party Hong Kong Indigenous, was barred Tuesday from competing in the city’s legislative elections Sept. 4 on grounds that his political views run afoul of Hong Kong’s de facto constitution. The 25-year-old is a leading figure in the “localist” movement, which calls for the democratization of Hong Kong and distance from mainland China. Leung received 15% of the vote in a February by-election, thanks to his popularity among youths, and was widely expected to win a seat on the Legislative Council if he ran next month. Many think Beijing was unwilling to have a pro-independence lawmaker on the city’s assembly and had Leung disqualified by the Electoral Affairs Commission. Doubts over the sustainability of the “one country, two systems” policy, which grants Hong Kong autonomy on most issues except diplomacy and defense, are expected to grow further.

Spain: Separatist movement in Catalonia steps up battle with Madrid | The Guardian

The separatist movement in Catalonia’s parliament has escalated its battle with Madrid after it defied Spain’s constitutional court by debating a controversial pro-independence roadmap, and the region’s president announced a confidence vote to consolidate the move towards sovereignty. The angry, last-minute debate – in which the pro-independence Together for Yes coalition and the smaller, far-left Popular Unity Candidacy secured approval for the unilateral disconnection plan by 72 votes to 11 – represents another open challenge to the Spanish judiciary and to Spain’s acting prime minister, Mariano Rajoy. It also provoked a furious reaction in the Catalan parliament from Ciudadanos and Popular party MPs who left the chamber rather than take part in a vote they described as “illegal” and flagrantly undemocratic. One Ciudadanos MP accused the separatist faction of “wanting to take us not only out of Spain and the EU, but out of the 21st century and modern democracy”. However, the president of the Catalan parliament, Together for Yes’s Carme Forcadell, insisted the parliament was exercising its sovereign rights.

United Kingdom: Scotland Starts Toward Independence Vote to Keep EU Ties | Bloomberg

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her government started work on legislation for a new referendum on independence after the U.K. as a whole decided to quit the European Union while Scotland voted to remain. Speaking after an emergency meeting of her cabinet in Edinburgh on Saturday, Sturgeon said she will also be seeking talks with European leaders and the institutions of the EU about ways of continuing Scotland’s relationship with the bloc. The semi-autonomous government will appoint a panel of advisers in coming weeks and convene a meeting of consuls from EU member states. “A second independence referendum is clearly an option that requires to be on the table, and it is very much on the table; to ensure that option is a deliverable one in the required timetable, steps will be taken now to ensure the necessary legislation is in place,” Sturgeon said in a televised statement outside her official Bute House residence. “We are determined to act decisively, but in a way that builds unity across Scotland about the way forward.”

Spain: Catalonia’s pro-independence coalition breaks down | AFP

The pro-independence coalition ruling Spain’s Catalonia broke down Wednesday, June 8, after its most radical component refused to back the government budget, forcing the regional president to call a parliamentary vote of no confidence. The development deals a blow to the coalition’s planned 18-month roadmap for independence from Spain by 2017, which it announced after winning a parliamentary majority in regional elections last September. Catalonia has so far done little to implement the plan, which calls for the regional government to create basic laws, a tax system and state structure for the wealthy, industrialized northeastern region whose capital Barcelona is a major tourist draw. Further complicating the project, the far-left, anti-capitalist CUP party that makes up the coalition turned against it Wednesday, refusing to back the government budget for 2016 and joining other non-independence opposition parties in voting against examining it in parliament.

Indonesia: West Papua: UN must supervise vote on independence, says coalition | The Guardian

The United Nations must pass a resolution for an internationally supervised vote for independence in West Papua, global parliamentarians and independence advocates have said. In a meeting in London on Tuesday, the West Papuan independence leader, Benny Wenda, will join parliamentarians, lawyers and humanitarians from the UK and the Pacific region to demand the United Nations pass a resolution for an independence referendum, in order to make up for its “mistake” in allowing Indonesia to take control almost 50 years ago. Indonesia warns other countries to respect its sovereignty over Papua. West Papuans are the indigenous people of a region on the Western half of an island shared with Papua New Guinea. Formerly under Dutch colonisation, Indonesia took temporary control of West Papua under a UN–backed treaty in 1963. It later gained complete rule through a UN-sanctioned but discredited ballot in 1969, in which just a little over 1000 Indonesian-picked West Papuan leaders representatives cast votes under threat of violence.

United Kingdom: Second Scottish independence vote not yet on table, says Nicola Sturgeon | The Guardian

Nicola Sturgeon has said a second independence referendum will be “off the table” until there is a clear majority in favour of a fresh vote, as she faced a barrage of attacks from her rivals. The Scottish National party leader was accused of misleading voters by breaking her pledges to respect the result of the 2014 vote, coming under sustained pressure from Labour, the Tories and Liberal Democrats over her planned drive this summer to build support for a new referendum. During a frequently ill-tempered debate televised by the BBC, the last before Thursday’s Holyrood election, the leaders clashed over the future of defence ship-building jobs on the Clyde, whose safety had been guaranteed during the referendum, and over health spending. But the clash over independence drew the loudest cheers from the audience. Sturgeon was accused by Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, of “trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the people of Scotland” by resurrecting the chances of a further referendum in the SNP’s manifesto for Thursday’s Scottish parliament election.

Spain: Deal reached in Catalonia region to avoid new elections | AFP

A fiercely secessionist leader was elected president of the wealthy region of Catalonia thanks to a last-minute show of unity, giving fresh impetus to attempts to break away from Spain after months of infighting. The appointment of Carles Puigdemont, just hours before a deadline which would have forced fresh regional elections, drew an immediate rebuke from Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. “The government won’t allow a single act that could harm the unity and sovereignty of Spain,” Rajoy warned in a live televised appearance in Madrid. Rajoy’s remarks came after Catalonia’s pro-independence faction that won regional parliamentary elections in September finally came to an agreement this weekend over who should lead the new local government.

Spain: Failed Catalan government makes another Spanish election more likely | Reuters

Catalan far-left party CUP said on Sunday it would not support acting regional head Artur Mas in his bid for another term, forcing new local elections and increasing the likelihood all Spaniards may have to return to the ballot box this year. The drawn-out process of forming a government in Catalonia echoes the political stalemate gripping Spain at a national level following an inconclusive general election two weeks ago. The prospect of new elections in Catalonia, most likely in March, increases the likelihood of a second general election this year as the receding threat of a strong Catalan government seeking a split from Spain will reduce pressure on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s centre-right People’s Party (PP) and the opposition Socialists to form a grand coalition to stand up to a separatist Catalan administration.

Spain: Prime Minister sees new elections in Catalonia as inevitable | Reuters

Spain’s acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Tuesday that a new regional election in Catalonia was inevitable after its pro-independence bloc fractured over who would be the new government’s leader. Catalonia has been unable to form a government since an election in September due to disagreements between the pro-independence parties who together gained a majority. If a new candidate is not chosen before Jan. 11, new regional elections will be called automatically, acting regional head Artur Mas told a news conference on Tuesday. The most likely date would be March 6, he said. The failure to form a Catalan government mirrors a political stalemate gripping all of Spain following an inconclusive national election on Dec. 20, and increases the likelihood all Spaniards will return to the ballot box this year.

Spain: Catalonia heads to new election in March | Politico

Members of the small far-left Catalan party CUP (Popular Unity Candidacy) decided Sunday not to support a new term for the incumbent regional president Artur Mas, bringing down his plans for a pro-independence government and pushing the wealthy Spanish region towards a new election in March. The decision brought to an end months of negotiations between the pro-independence movement Junts pel sí (Together for Yes), which unites center-right and left parties, and the radical CUP, which wants Catalonia to leave Spain, the EU and NATO. The prospect of a new election in Catalonia, which only held its last regional vote at the end of September, adds to the political uncertainty in Spain after the December 20 national elections, in which no party — including incumbent Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party (PP) — got enough votes for a majority.

Armenia: Election Math in Armenia: Population Decreases, Voters Increase | Hetq

On December 6, citizens of Armenia will vote in a referendum to change the country’s constitution. It needs 638,583 “yes” votes to pass. Hetq has taken a look at past national elections and has revealed that while the number of residents in Armenia has been decreasing, the number of eligible voters has increased. Armenia’s first constitution after regaining independence was adopted on July 5, 1995. At the time, according to official figures, the country’s population was 3,753,500 and the number of eligible voters was 2,189,804. According to September 2015 official figures, 3,007,300 people live in Armenia and as of November 6, 2,554,332 have the right to vote.

Spain: Catalonia Votes to Secede from Spain, But Not Yet | Fortune

Ratcheting up the tension in an already edgy relationship between the Spanish national government and Catalonia, the restive region in northeastern Spain, the Catalan parliament passed a resolution in which it “solemnly declared the initiation of the process of the creation of an independent Catalan state in the form of a republic.” Or, in other words, secession from Spain. The resolution is unlikely to lead to independence in the immediate future, but it inspired an equally solemn yet hyperbolic response from the central government in Madrid. “The government is not going to let this continue,” Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Monday, announcing that the government would appeal the Catalan motion to Spain’s constitutional court. “We are committed to using all democratic means to defend democracy. We will use only the rule of law, but all the rule of law. Only the law, but all the law; only democracy, but all the force of democracy.”

China: As Tibetan exiles vote, candidates discuss views on China | Associated Press

As Tibetans around the world voted Sunday in the first round of elections to choose a new government-in-exile, candidates were debating how to carry on their campaign to free their Himalayan homeland from Chinese rule. Hundreds of Tibetans, including monks and nuns wearing wine-colored robes, lined up behind voting kiosks in the north Indian hill town of Dharmsala, where the exiled government is based. One by one, they wrote the names of their favorite candidates on pieces of paper and slid them into green ballot boxes. It’s just the second time Tibetans are voting since the Dalai Lama stepped down as head of the government-in-exile in 2011 to focus on his role as Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader. “He wants us to stand on our own feet and decide about the future of Tibet,” said Tsering Tsomo, who heads the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Dharmsala. Tsering Tsomo noted that Tibetan democracy was still developing. “We have the institution, but not the culture,” she said.

Spain: General election set for December 20 | AFP

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Thursday announced that Spain’s forthcoming general election will be held on December 20. Rajoy, who announced the date in an interview with Antena 3 television, enjoys an absolute majority in parliament with his conservative Popular Party (PP), but opinion polls suggest support for the opposition Socialist Party is running close behind. Far-left party Podemos, which wants to loosen the grip of austerity introduced by Rajoy’s government since it came to power in 2011, is running in third place. If the Socialists and Podemos teamed up in a coalition, they could boot the PP from power, surveys suggest.

Spain: Catalonia’s election leaves Spain with a constitutional crisis | Financial Times

Sunday’s regional election results in Catalonia show that its citizens are pretty evenly divided between separation from and union with Spain — a plurinational state that must now rise to the challenge of how to accommodate ancient nations within it such as the Catalans and the Basques if it is not to break up. But first the electoral facts. Junts pel Sí, the main independence bloc made up of centre-right nationalists and centre-left republicans, came first with 62 out of 135 seats. With 10 more seats won by a separatist group of the radical left, there is a secessionist majority in the Catalan parliament. It is not a homogeneous majority: the leftist group wants to see the back of Artur Mas, president of the Generalitat, the Catalan autonomous government. Most important of all, the separatist camp presented these elections as a plebiscite for independence, but fell short of a majority of votes, with only 47.7 per cent — well below the crystal-clear majority it would need morally to justify a rupture with Spain.

Spain: Catalonia’s President to Face Court Questioning Over Independence Vote | Wall Street Journal

A court in Catalonia on Tuesday summoned the leader of the wealthy region for questioning for allegedly defying a constitutional court order and organizing a symbolic referendum on Catalan independence last November. The High Court of Justice of Catalonia called on regional President Artur Mas to appear Oct. 15 to explain his role in the symbolic vote in which 2.3 million people participated. The court is investigating a criminal complaint filed last year by Spain’s attorney general against Mr. Mas and two other Catalan officials shortly after the vote. The three officials were charged with four crimes each, including contempt of court and misappropriation of funds.