Campaigning for a independence referendum in Iraq's semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region officially kicked off on Tuesday. 

The non-binding referendum that has been rejected by Iraq as well as numerous other countries is slated for September 25.

In the referendum, residents of the Kurdistan Region, as it is formally called, will vote on whether or not to declare independence from the central Iraqi government in Baghdad.

The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Kurdish Regional Government President Masoud Barzani, is the referendum’s main backer.

A group of KDP supporters took to the streets of the region’s capital Erbil in the early hours of the day to mark the occasion.

Turkey, Iran along with the United States, Russia and the European Union oppose the planned referendum and do not support a break up of Iraq.

TRT World'sSoraya Lennie explains why.

Wrong step

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month said the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government’s move to carry out a referendum on whether to declare formal independence from Iraq would be a wrong step.

"Stepping on northern Iraq's independence is a threat to Iraq's territorial integrity and it is wrong. We wish this step would have been taken through consultation. We have always been in favor of Iraq's territorial integrity."

Baghdad also rejected the planned poll, saying it could adversely affect the ongoing fight against Daesh, which despite a string of recent defeats still maintains presence in Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi has repeatedly called the vote unconstitutional.

The US has likewise voiced concern that the poll could serve as a distraction from other pressing regional issues, especially the fight against Daesh and the stabilisation of war-weary Iraq.

Europe Union and Russia emphasised the importance of territorial integrity and warned against its effect on the neighbouring countries.

The referendum has drawn fire not only from international arena, but also from Kurdish, Turkmen, Arab and Christian groups in the region.

The Shia Sadrist movement declared opposition to the poll.

Many Arabs and Turkmen in the disputed city of Kirkuk vowed to boycott the referendum.

Meanwhile, a number of Christian communities in the Hamdaniya and Tel Kayf districts east of Mosul announced their opposition to holding the poll in their respective regions.

The Kurdish Movement for Change (Gorran) and the Kurdistan Islamic Society Party (Komel) announced that they didn’t favour the independence referendum.

After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Kurds were given leverage over the oil rich cities in the region, including Turkmen and Arab populated Kirkuk.

By the year 2007, the administrative of these areas were to be determined through referendums, anyway, they have not yet held because of the political crisis in the country. 

Now, the Kurdish region's leadership is trying to take advantage of the territorial gains they have made during the fight against Daesh.