Sudan: Referendum Registration Finally Kicks Off

By Nicholas Tago

JUBA---After a delay of three months, the voter registration exercise for the 9 January 2011 referendum on South Sudan finally kicked off to a slow start. The referendum marks the final phase of the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended nearly 22 years of civil war between the Muslim  north and the mainly Christian and animist south.

While there was an air hope in the south, which is poised to vote for independence, there was a sense of indifference in the north, which has been campaigning for unity to ensure continued sharing of oil resources located in the south. As the exercise kicked off, South Sudan President Salva Kiir-Mayardit appealed to southerners to turn out in large numbers and register for the historic plebiscite.

“A referendum happens only once. People must come out in large numbers, otherwise it would mean people fought and died for nothing”, Kiir said outside the John Garang Memorial Centre as enthusiastic southerners queued to register as voters.

The voter registration exercise, which is supposed to continue for two weeks, has been delayed owing to logistical challenges. Southern leaders have often accused the Khartoum government of being hell-bent on derailing the exercise to scuttle the south’s quest for secession.

A simple majority of 50 per cent plus one vote is all that will be required for the referendum to sail through. However, the result will only be valid if at least 60 per cent of registered voters turn out to cast their ballots. Analysts have warned that any attempts to rig the results would lead to a resumption of the war between the north and south, with severe repercussions being felt within the entire East and Horn of Africa.