The vote organized by Kurdish authorities is expected to deliver a comfortable “yes” for independence, but is not binding. Turnout among 5.2 million eligible voters was 78 percent, the Kurdish Rudaw TV station said, and vote counting had started. Erdogan said traffic was only being allowed to cross from the Turkish side of the border into Kurdish areas of Iraq. Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military adviser to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, said Iran regarded the referendum as “treason” against the Iraqi Kurds. There were fewer billboards celebrating the referendum, reflecting resentment that a yes vote could be seen as a plebiscite for the Kurdish leader.

Source: bd News24 September 25, 2017 17:48 UTC