Iraqi Kurdistan is putting its future to a vote. After a meeting between most of the region's Kurdish parties earlier in the day, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced June 7 that it would hold a referendum to determine whether to declare independence from Iraq. Nearly all the major political groups in attendance at the meeting — which the Gorran party boycotted to protest the hegemony of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the KRG — backed the referendum, slated for Sept. 25. The decision marks a significant step for Iraqi Kurdistan, one that could have implications well beyond Iraq. But as the KRG learned in a similar vote in 2005, holding a referendum and following through on its results are two different things. And at this point, even holding one could prove a challenge. Already, Iraqi Kurdistan's parties are at odds over how to carry out the vote.