BASRA, Iraq, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- A move to establish the southern Iraqi city of Basra an autonomous region has failed to gather enough support to stage a referendum, Iraqi officials say.
Iraq's Independent Electoral High Commission Wednesday said a petition campaign to put the proposal on the ballot in upcoming regional elections fell short of the required signatures, CNN reported.
Iraq's constitution allows for such autonomous regions. Currently, only the country's Kurdish region has such status. Proponents of the measure said autonomy would allow Basra to be self-governing and would boost its oil income, the U.S. broadcaster said.
Baghdad officials told CNN that 135,707 signatures were required on the petition by this week's deadline, but only 32,448 had been collected.
