Talk:Basra Region

Requested move 30 December 2025

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: not moved. While there was support, the support arguments (and the nomination) were not at all supported by Wikipedia policies, the opposing argument, however, made a strong case with an actual connection to the Wikipedia policies and showed why this move would go against the standards. For that reason, not moved. (closed by non-admin page mover) – LuniZunie_(talk) 12:53, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

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Basra Federal Region → Basra Region – The Kurdistan Region is called the Kurdistan Region and the Sunni Region is called the Sunni Region, so I think the Basra Region should be called the Basra Region for consistency reason. GuesanLoyalist (talk) 08:39, 28 December 2025 (UTC) This is a contested technical request (permalink). HurricaneZeta^C 00:53, 30 December 2025 (UTC) — Relisting. TarnishedPath^talk 04:54, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

Doing this on behalf of @GuesanLoyalist per the RMTR request. HurricaneZeta^C 00:54, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

• Oppose based on the fact that a majority of the sourcing uses the wording "federal region" and it seems to be a major part of the coverage on it. The other examples don't have that type of usage of the wording. Basra Region already redirects to Basra and there's no need to make the title of this article more ambiguous when it isn't the WP:COMMONNAME. HurricaneZeta^C 00:57, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

  Search engine hits for "Basra Region" also result in all mentions to the city, and some mentioning this proposal outright use Basra Federal Region. This is recent and uses Basra Region, and I would support moving if it actually becomes a region similar to Kurdistan Region since it'd be named in the same way and get coverage under that name. But as of now it's probably too soon as it's just a proposal and most coverage is under the federal region name. HurricaneZeta^C 01:02, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

• Support the name in Arabic: اقليم البصرة, translates to Basra Region. Montblamc1 (talk) 06:32, 30 December 2025 (UTC)

• Support for same reasons of Montblamc1 Najafite (talk) 08:06, 1 January 2026 (UTC)

Note: WikiProject Iraq has been notified of this discussion. TarnishedPath^talk 04:54, 6 January 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Requested move 24 January 2026

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: Withdrawn. On request of HurricaneZeta and LuniZunie's behalf (non-admin closure) GuesanLoyalist (talk) 20:05, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

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Basra Federal Region → Basra Region – Consistency with articles like the Kurdistan Region or the Sunni Region. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Basra_Federal_Region#Requested_move_30_December_2025 and https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1330195953#9AM if you wish. GuesanLoyalist (talk) 23:52, 24 January 2026 (UTC) This is a contested technical request (permalink). GuesanLoyalist (talk) 00:04, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

Also do note that I did previously suggest doing this, but someone closed it despite a clear majority. GuesanLoyalist (talk) 00:08, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

Oppose per my previous rationale, and consensus is WP:NOTAVOTE. @GuesanLoyalist if you want to contest the close you should go to the closer's talk page, and then WP:MRV. HurricaneZeta^C 01:14, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

After I did my resolution with Lumi, what should I do with this thread then? Delete it? GuesanLoyalist (talk) 02:07, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

You shouldn't blank it but you can close it as withdrawn HurricaneZeta^C 02:09, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

Where's that button exactly? (Please don't do it for me this time, I want to do it for myself so that I can be more independent and less reliant on other editors) GuesanLoyalist (talk) 02:25, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

@GuesanLoyalist There's a few scripts but I use User:TarnishedPath/MovePlus, hit "Close" at the top after installing -> Custom -> Withdrawn and it does it automatically. Also, we could use some more closers at RM and you can close other RMs with it HurricaneZeta^C 02:28, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

Thanks! Will do that after I talk with the user in particular! GuesanLoyalist (talk) 02:33, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

@HurricaneZeta I don't think that I succeeded in doing so to try contesting the result? I don't know if I actually succeeded in convincing them, but you can check for yourself if you wish. GuesanLoyalist (talk) 07:15, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Requested move 26 April 2026

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: moved. Moved as an uncontested request with minimal participation. If there is any objection within a reasonable time frame, please ask me to reopen the discussion; if I am not available, please ask at the technical requests page. (closed by non-admin page mover) Jeffrey34555 (talk) 06:51, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

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Basra Federal Region → Basra Region – Let me make this clear and concise: I would like to move this article to the title as the Basra Region because of reliable sources equally using the term along with "Basra Federal Region", consistency and concision (along with the other criterias), and de facto usage. @HurricaneZeta just to let you know that I have previously contacted LuniZunie about it per this discussion: User_talk:LuniZunie#Hello_again,_I_just_want_to_be_clear_on_something_from_our_previous_conversation.

So let's clear some things, what reliable sources have referred to the Basra Federal Region as the Basra Region? I have organised a table of ten sources that had used the term "Basra Region," featuring both a url and an extracted quote from them as well. Read the entire post before commenting as I am forced to not include two wikitables within the reason= parameter of Template:Requested move, so you might not be able to see the entire message. GuesanLoyalist (talk) 06:31, 26 April 2026 (UTC) — Relisting. Jeffrey34555 (talk) 06:55, 3 May 2026 (UTC)

Source	Quotation
Basra autonomy debate rekindled amid economic grievances	"The Iraqi constitution permits one or more provinces to form a federal region following a public referendum, and the Kurdistan Region is often cited as a precedent. However, political analysts warn that creating a Basra region could ignite similar demands in other areas, particularly Anbar, the main Sunni province, potentially accelerating sectarian and regional fragmentation."
Basra Residents Renew Push for Regional Status as Signature Drive Begins	"Organizers and activists involved in the signature drive have publicly stated they will not retreat from what they view as a legal imperative, asserting that a "Basra Region" must become a reality to address the disparity between the province's economic output and its dilapidated infrastructure."
Basra Provincial Council supports steps towards regionalization	ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A majority of the Basra Provincial Council members have declared their support for moving forward with steps to form the Basra Region, the council’s deputy chairman said on Friday.
Initiating procedures to declare Basra a region	"The Iraqi Electoral Commission had previously launched the form for collecting the 2% signatures as a prelude to initiating the constitutional procedures for establishing the Basra region. The Basra Federal Culture Organization announced that this step came after a campaign that lasted for more than ten years demanding the establishment of a Basra region."
Basra Council moves to activate region proposal	"He described the proposed Basra region as a long-standing aspiration for residents, arguing that regional status would enable the province to fully exercise its constitutional rights, independently manage development and reconstruction, and advance what he termed “social justice,” free from external control over its resources."
IHEC Activates Application Process for Formation of Basra Region	"He explained that the application period for forming the Basra Region will last one month. During this period, other residents of the governorate may fill out the form in support of the initiative. If the number of applicants reaches 10 percent of registered voters, the process advances to the next stage, which involves preparing for a referendum."
A New Region, or Independence? Basra’s Demands Amidst a Local Government Crisis	"Despite this growing rejection, the Basrawis attempted again in 2010, when 16 members of the Basra Governorate Council submitted a request to the Council of Ministers to conduct a popular referendum as the first stage in establishing the Basra region. But former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ignored their request and they received no official response. With the emergence of demands to divide and split Basra into two governorates or more, the call for establishing a region was repeated again in 2011, but this time it was nothing more than an attempt at political exploitation and points-scoring among conflicting parties inside Basra."
Iraq Election Body Moves Toward Basra Region Referendum	"ERBIL — Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has formally launched the constitutional procedures required to pursue the creation of a Basra Region, activating official forms that allow supporters to begin the legally mandated signature-collection process."
Basra official renews call for regional status, cites constitution	"BASRA — Calls to establish a Basra region have resurfaced, with a governorate spokesperson saying the move is rooted in Iraq’s constitution and would aim to expand local administrative powers without challenging federal authority."
Baghdad and Basra: Key to Understanding the Iraqi Protests	"Following the Islamic State onslaught across western and central Iraq in mid-2014 and the nomination of Abadi as Iraq’s new prime minister, the push for Basran autonomy continued. Grassroots youth organisations launched a social media campaign under the title “I am for [the] Basra Region” that went viral. They also designed a new Basran flag that was hung at the airport and unfurled by football fans during a match at the Al-Mina’a stadium."

But while I was searching for these sources, I kept coming across sources that used "Basra Region" with region referring towards geographic or locational. Additionally, another category of reliable sources has used the more longer "Basra Federal Region" (including similar variants) on their websites. They include the following:

Source	Quotation
A Difficult Test for The Iraqi Government: Discussions Over Federal Region in Basra	"It may be said that the people of Basra openly and strongly support the establishment of the Basra Federal Region, unlike at the time of previous political demands. Even though the Shiite religious authority Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who stood against the previous attempts claiming that the attempts would cause division of the country, remains silent for now, it seems that this time the attempt for Basra to become a federal region is stronger than before."
Iraqis Unite for Better Services	"The waves of protests that have rocked southern Iraq enter a second week as the government struggles to contain mounting anger over poor services and unemployment. The protests, which began in Basra, come a decade after the Basra Federal Region campaign that called for a federal region covering the governorate of Basra with independent powers, similar to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq."
Autonomy and the Assyrians of Iraq	"Actually, there was a claim to establish Basra Federal Region. The Independent High Electoral Commission IHEC adopted the process of establishing it. The attempt failed because it didn't get enough votes to be adopted by the constitution of Iraq."
The Iraqi Federation: Origin, Operation and Significance	"For example, in late 2008, the Basra provincial council and its former governor, Wail Abd-al-Latif, organised a petition drive coordinated by the Independent High Electoral Commission to win 10 per cent of the governorate’s eligible voters, which is nearly 140,000 votes, in order to form a Basra federal region (International Crisis Group, 2009, p.8). However, the attempt failed and the population expressed their willingness to maintain the status of their existing governorate and its relationship with the Federal government"
The Fractured Shia of Iraq	"One of ISCI’s political goals is the formation of a nine-province “Shiastan” super-region in the south. There is little to indicate that this proposal has much Shiite popular support, as evidenced by the failure of the Basra federal region petition to garner sufficient signatures even to be put to a referendum."
2009 Provincial Elections Factsheet	"Major tension developed between some Shia in Basra province and the IHEC over a ballot measure to create a Basra federal region. On November 15, 2008, MP Wa’il Abdel Latif, a Shia member of the secular Iraqi National List, submitted a petition of 34,800 citizens of Basra to open a referendum campaign on creating a Basra federal region. In response, IHEC opened up 34 centers to collect signatures for the referendum for a period lasting from December 15 2008 until January 19, 2009. On January 21, 2009, the referendum bid, failing to garner enough signatures, failed."
Basraians submit signatures for federal region	"BASRA / IraqiNews.com: Signature gathering centers for the establishment of the Basra federal region witnessed in the past two days a small number of supporters at the center of the city in al-Ushar region, the IraqiNews.comi correspondent who visited several centers said. “This could be attributed to the petition which will last for one month,” the correspondent said, noting that the commission’s employees which run these centers refused to make any statements on the number of registered. “My participation came as i believe in this project. The establishment of the Basra federal region will benefit all Basraians and we will be able to enjoy more freedom in work or to establish constructional projects,” Udai Karim, 45-uear-old citizen, told IraqiNews.com."
Basra Federal Region Update	"That effort started on December 14, and they have until January 14 to finish. If they accomplish that there has to be an election within 15 days. The initiative will pass with 51% of the vote. A Basra federal region has been on the mind of Latif and others for quite some time, but will face opposition from many powerful parties."
100 days of Adel Abd Al-Mahdi's Government	"There are some provinces that have recently called for establishing their own federal region(such as the federal region of Basra) similar to the Kurdistan region. Do you agree with the idea of the following federal regions"
Iraq 16 years later... Is the country still at war with itself?	"The Federal Region Of Basra"

Note that there were more results for "Basra Region" (26+ pages of results) rather then "Basra Federal Region" (therefore making the "Basra Region" the WP:COMMONNAME) (4 pages of results) so I had to fill in the last two with things from "Federal Region of Basra" (just one page) since I ran out of reliable sources to use for "Basra Federal Region". So what should we do then? Well we might have to go towards WP:CRITERIA next.

On WP:CRITERIA, it says that:

Concision – The title is not longer than necessary to identify the article's subject and distinguish it from other subjects. (See § Concision, below.)

and

Consistency – The title is consistent with the pattern of similar articles' titles. Many of these patterns are listed (and linked) as topic-specific naming conventions on article titles, in the box above. (See § Consistency, below.)

1. Lets start with concision, by having "Basra Federal Region" as the title, it can be seen as too long when something like "Basra Region" would be able to express the same idea on what the article is about (Proposals for the establishment of a federal region in the location of the Basra Governorate). By that logic, should we rename the Kurdistan Region as the Kurdistan Federal Region or rename the Sunni Region as Sunni Federal Region? It is unnecessary and it is possible to get the title much more shorter while not sacraficing on what topic is getting covered.

2. What about consistency? Well, that is also a valid reason for moving this article. Let's have a look at the other federal region-related articles:

• Sunni Region
• Kurdistan Region
• Basra Federal Region

Notice on how the Basra Federal Region stands out like a sore thumb? Well it still doesn't quite make sense to just keep the name as the "Basra Federal Region" if it isn't the WP:COMMONNAME? beacuse using "Basra Region" would blend in better and would look more better like this:

• Sunni Region
• Kurdistan Region
• Basra Region

3. Another argument of mine is that it's de facto usage, but you might be thinking to yourself,

De facto usage? what do you mean by that? I can understand and see the other reasons that you suggested and all GuesanLoyalist but what do you mean by de facto in this case?

It's because arguably (at least in my viewpoint) that the article uses "Basra Region" significantly a lot more then "Basra Federal Region" as the only time that you are able to see "Basra Federal Region" is the title and one source. Since the Basra Region is already called that in the article, we might as well move it as the "Basra Region".

4. The rest of the criteria previously listed would also fall in favour of "Basra Region" as:

1. Still recognisable just like the Basra Region and would serve as a natural disambiguation so that readers don't confuse it with Basra or Basra Governorate.

2. May have potential for naturalness, as I would make an educated guess that the said readers would type in and expect a "Basra Region" after seeing the pattern at Kurdistan Region and Sunni Region.

3. May even be precise enough to convey the same idea (like I have previously stated before)

In conclusion: "Basra Region" should be the new name as it still fufills the criteria, is WP:COMMONNAME, and is used none the less already on the article. GuesanLoyalist (talk) 06:31, 26 April 2026 (UTC)

Note: WikiProject Iraq has been notified of this discussion. GuesanLoyalist (talk) 21:56, 26 April 2026 (UTC)

@LuniZunie is this more better then my previous requested move? I just want to seek feedback on what I should and shouldn't do GuesanLoyalist (talk) 02:48, 29 April 2026 (UTC)

It's better as in it has more information, but check out WP:WALLOFTEXT. – LuniZunie_(talk) 12:19, 29 April 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.