People living in northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence for the Kurdistan Region in Monday’s controversial referendum.
The electoral commission said 92% of the 3.3 million Kurds and non-Kurds who cast their ballots supported secession.
The announcement came despite a last-minute appeal for the result to be “cancelled” from Iraq’s prime minister.
Haider al-Abadi urged Kurds to instead engage in dialogue with Baghdad “in the framework of the constitution”.
Kurdish leaders say the “Yes” vote will give them a mandate to start negotiations on secession with the central government in Baghdad and neighbouring countries.
The referendum was held in the three Iraqi provinces that make up the Kurdistan Region, as well as “areas of Kurdistan outside the region’s administration”.
Electoral commission officials told a news conference in Irbil on Wednesday afternoon that 2,861,000 people had voted “yes” to independence and 224,000 had voted “no”. Turnout was 72.61% among those eligible to vote.
In a speech to parliament before the result was announced, Mr Abadi insisted that he would “never have a dialogue” about the referendum’s outcome with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The vote was vehemently opposed by Baghdad and much of the international community, which expressed concern about its potentially destabilising effects, particularly on the battle against IS.
Kurds are the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East but they have never obtained a permanent nation state.
In Iraq, where they make up an estimated 15% to 20% of the population of 37 million, Kurds faced decades of repression before acquiring autonomy in 1991.

source: bbc