Sudan Referendum Results Due In February

Sudan Referendum Results Due In February

The South Sudan Referendum Bureau has said that the result of the ongoing referendum would be announced on February 16 .

Mr. Samuel Machar, the Bureau's Commissioner for Public Outreach, said in Juba on Tuesday that for the results to be valid and acceptable under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) 60 per cent of the total number of registered voters must cast their votes.

He said a total of 3,753,815 voters were registered at the 2,638 registration centres across the 10 states of Southern Sudan .

Machar said 52 per cent of those who registered to vote were women while 48 per cent of voters were men.

'' The votes would be counted at the various collation centres in the both the south and north as well and the eight countries where Diaspora voting was taking place.'' Machar said.

Machar listed the eight countries as Kenya , Uganda , Ethiopia , Egypt , Australia , Canada , the US and the UK .

He said the result would then be transmitted to the South Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) for final collation and declaration in February.

Mr. David Dang, Deputy Head of South Sudan Mission in Ethiopia , also said that voters were expected to vote where they registered.

Dang said some of the centres in African countries were located in refugee camps of Southern Sudan People who were displaced during the war.

''In Ethiopia there are two of such camps located in Gambella and Asosa regions while many others are spread across Kenya and Uganda ,'' he said.

Dang said voting centres in Europe and America were opened to cater for the large number of Southern Sudanese in those countries.

Reports from Juba say as voting continues, people are going about their normal businesses, with no restriction of movement or commercial activities.

NAN/Yinka