ARBIL, Iraq, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The parliament of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan on Friday convened for the first time after two years of suspension, and is scheduled to discuss referendum on independence of the Kurdish region.
"The meeting will discuss the referendum of the Kurdistan region, which will be on Sept. 25, and will respond to the decision made earlier by the Iraqi parliament, which rejected this referendum," said Tariq Jowhar, media advisor of the parliament, told Xinhua.
Jowhar said the session was chaired by the deputy speaker, as Speaker Yousif Mohammed Sadiq did not attend the session since his Gorran Movement is boycotting the session along with the Kurdistan Islamic Group.
Another parliamentary bloc, the Assyrian Democratic Movement, which has two seats in the 111-seat parliament, also boycotts the parliament session because the bloc resists referendum of independence in Nineveh Plain, Ya'qub Gorges, a member of the movement said in a statement.
Earlier, the two major Kurdish parties of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) announced that the parliament session, originally scheduled on Thursday, would be delayed to late Friday to convince Goran Movement and the Islamic group to attend the first parliament session in two years.
On Thursday, the Kurdish regional government said it had received an alternative plan for the referendum on independence in Kurdistan on Sept. 25.
An international delegation, including the United States, Britain and UN envoys, met with Kurdish President Masoud Barzani and presented the alternative path for the controversial independence referendum.
However, Barzani earlier vowed to go ahead with the independence referendum, ignoring calls to postpone the controversial move.
"So far, we haven't seen an alternative that can take the place of the referendum. Do not listen to anyone, we are going to go to a referendum," Barzani said during a campaign for the Kurdish referendum in Duhok Province.
On June 7, Barzani announced his intention to hold a referendum on the independence of the Kurdish region from Iraq on Sept. 25.
The referendum has been opposed by Baghdad because it would threaten the integrity of Iraq and would distract the ongoing fight against Islamic State militant group by Iraqi forces.
The neighboring countries of Turkey, Iran and Syria also feel that the move would threaten their territorial integrity, as large numbers of Kurdish population live in those countries.
