ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Basra's Provincial Council is set to start collecting member signatures to transform the strategic province into a Region, with a council member telling The New Region on Tuesday that the resolution enjoys "broad consensus" among local blocs, days after the electoral commission announced an application form for the creation of the Region.

Iraq’s electoral commission announced on Thursday that it had launched an application form for the creation of the “Basra Region,” giving an organization its approval to collect two percent of the province’s voters to activate constitutional procedures.

Basra Provincial Council member Imad al-Mutairi said on Tuesday that council members will begin signing the resolution to pave the way for its submission to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani's office. 

"Most council members are seriously committed to this resolution, and the coming days will witness clear signs on the ground confirming the council's seriousness in this historic step," Mutairi told The New Region, adding that "this step enjoys broad consensus among the various local political blocs."

The Basriatha Federal Culture Organization told The New Region on Thursday that it had received approval from IHEC to collect the signatures of two percent of Basra's population, as the initial step to start the constitutional procedures to form the region. 

Article 119 of the Iraqi constitution stipulates that one or more Iraqi provinces "shall have the right to organize into a region based on a request to be voted on in a referendum," after requesting the initiation of the procedure in one of two ways; either through a vote by ten percent of the population, or a request filed by one third of the provincial council, with the former requiring an initial petition by at least two percent of the province to carry out the process.

"The goal of transforming Basra into a region is not merely symbolic; it seeks to strengthen the province's political and administrative role and empower it to manage its resources independently," improving local development, investment, and basic services, Mutairi continued.

Sitting on a vast volume of natural oil and gas, Basra is one of Iraq's most strategic cities, generating substantial revenue for the country via its natural resources and ports. 

A Basra region has long been in the making, according to Basriatha Director Ammar Sarhan, who said that the movement has lasted more than ten years, before submitting an official request to the Iraqi elections body and "following it up for more than three months, until the approval was obtained." 

The Kurdistan Region is currently the only autonomous region in federal Iraq. The Region's authorities, however, have repeatedly criticized Baghdad for not adhering to the constitution in their implementation of a federal model.

Officially recognized in 2005 in the Iraqi Constitution, the Kurdistan Region's provinces lead Iraq in several quality of life metrics.