ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - With the referendum pending to transition the Kurdistan Region of Iraq into its own nation state, logistics must be organized in order for the vote to take place, according to Kurdistan’s top election commissioner.

“Preparation for the election and the referendum is the same. You need to open polling stations everywhere, in every village, every district,” Hendren Mohammed Saleh, the High Commissioner of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), told Rudaw in an interview.

“The referendum is much easier than the election process,” explained Saleh. “First, there is no political partisanship,” he said. “The referendum is supported by all of the Kurdish parties.”

Iraq’s Kurds have long yearned for breaking away from the central government in Baghdad and declaring their own nation state. Kurdish authorities agree that a referendum should decide on whether to stay as part of Iraq or declare independence, but no date has been announced for a vote.

A war with the Islamic State (ISIS) that began after the militants tried to storm toward the Kurdish capital of Erbil two years ago has delayed any referendum.

Saleh explained that a vote on independence would be simpler than the parliamentary or presidential elections that have been held in Kurdistan since 1992.

“The procedure for voting (in a referendum) is easier,” said Saleh. “The voters just say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. In an election, there is more difficulty for the voter.”

What does complicate this referendum, however, is how it is worded.

“The question will be: are you going to support Kurdistan’s independence or just to be separate from Baghdad?” Saleh said, explaining that voters would choose between outright independence or remaining inside Iraq, but with greater sovereignty.

“Maybe the outcome is the same but for the situation,” as Saleh explained, “the question is very important.”

While territory is currently contested among the Kurdistan Regional Government the Iraqi government and ISIS, territories newly liberated retaken by the Kurds from the militants can potentially complicate the reach of the referendum.

But Saleh is convinced that the voting for the referendum will also take place in the newly-liberated territories that are now under the KRG.

“They should have their vote,” he emphasized. He went on to stress that

Kurds living outside the KRG, but still within Iraq, should have their vote as well, such as in areas like Kirkuk.

“Even according to Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, the constitution mentions there should be a referendum in Kirkuk for the people to decide if they wish to go back (to Kurdistan) or not,” said Saleh.

In addition to the newly-liberated territories, Saleh acknowledges that with a war ongoing, territories acquired are ever changing and they too can be affected by the referendum, but with their own independence vote at a later time.

“If any new area should join some time later,” Saleh explained, “I think it should be organized by the law to perhaps have a complimentary referendum or something like that.”

Although Erbil and Baghdad have had their problems, Saleh claimed that there has been no interference by leaders in Baghdad.

“We know our job by the law and Baghdad knows theirs,” said Saleh. “There is a mutual understanding between both sides because there is some area that we can share together and serve our voters better, like voter registration, monitoring and some other issues. And so, now we have a mutual understanding.”

Saleh also expects this referendum to have a major impact on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Kurdistan, which are expected to take place in September of 2017.

“If the referendum passes and we will be independent, (Kurdistan) will be a state,” he said. “This parliament will be the Kurdistan parliament not the parliament just in the Kurdistan Region. A lot of laws and wordings will be changed. Even the draft of the constitution will be changed.”