Basra autonomy becoming serious

The Basra province's electoral commission is to begin collecting signatures to transform the oil rich hub into an autonomous region.

Collecting signatures in the predominantly Shia province will be held for one month beginning December 15 to January 14, the province's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said in a statement on Sunday.

Visioning the Kurdistan region's economic and political opportunities in light of its autonomous stance, Basra is also demanding the establishment of a federal region of its own.

IHEC says there are 1,409,393 eligible voters in the oil-rich Basra province.

Basra produces 70 percent of Iraq's oil and 80 percent of the country's crude is exported from Basra port the capital city of the province.

"If after the certification of the signature collection process, the signature list reaches the required 10 percent of the 'Final Voters List', a referendum will be held within three months," AFP quoted the statement as saying.

The statement further said that if the referendum is organized and accepted, it will transform Basra into an autonomous region with the same rights as Kurdistan in northern Iraq, which also enjoys considerable oil wealth.
Press TV