South Sudanese Vote In Landmark Poll

South Sudanese Vote In Landmark Poll

Voters in Southern Sudan have been trooping to polling stations in a landmark referendum on independence.

Reports say voters seem determined as they turn out for the week-long vote.

Voters in the southern village of Kotobi , who are in long queues said they were voting for friends and relatives killed by war.

The mainly Muslim north has promised the south, where most people are Christian or follow tradition religions; it will not block its plans to secede if that is the result of the vote, as expected.

The vote, agreed as part of the 2005 peace deal, is widely expected to result in Africa 's largest country being split in two.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has said he will respect the outcome, but warned an independent south would face instability.

For the referendum to be valid, at least 60% of the 3.8 million registered voters must take part.

New chapter

South Sudanese leader Salva Kiir, casting his ballot on the first day of polling, urged people to ‘be patient' , in case they were not able to vote as the exercise will last a whole week.

The international community is watching the vote closely and US President Barack Obama said it represented a "new chapter in history" for Sudan .

The action of Sudanese leaders would help determine whether their people move toward peace and prosperity, or slide backward into bloodshed", he said in a statement.

The run-up to the vote was marred by clashes between the south Sudanese military and rebels in the oil-rich Unity state.

Leaders of the southern Dinka community and Arab nomads in Abyei say more than 20 people have died in fighting which began on Friday, over grazing rights for cattle, long seen as a potential flashpoint which could trigger wider violence.

Abyei was due to hold a separate referendum on whether to join north or south Sudan but this has been postponed indefinitely because of disagreements over eligibility.

North and south Sudan have suffered decades of conflict driven by religious and ethnic divides.

Last week, Mr. Bashir said he understood why many southerners wanted independence, but he expressed concern at how the new nation would cope.

Mr. Bashir said southerners living in the north would not be allowed dual citizenship and floated the idea of the two nations joining in an EU-style bloc.

The official result of the referendum is not due to be announced for at least four weeks, partly because of the logistical difficulties of gathering the ballot papers from across a region the size of France and Germany.

BBC/REUTERS/Margaret/Yinka