20110117
xinhua

KHARTOUM, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General' s Panel on the Referenda in Sudan on Sunday said the polling process in south Sudan referendum allowed the people of south Sudan to express their will freely.

"Based on its observations, and those of its staff in the field, as well as from accounts conveyed by various interlocutors in Sudan, the Panel is satisfied that the process allowed the people of south Sudan to express their will freely," said Benjamin Mkapa, former President of Tanzania and head of the UN panel, in a statement.

"The presence of over 22,000 Sudanese and international observers has helped make the process transparent. Staff at referendum centers coped admirably with the very high turnout," the statement added.

The panel further stressed the importance of protecting the civilians in the coming weeks, saying that "the Panel also stresses the importance of the protection of civilians in the weeks ahead. Southerners living in the North and Northerners living in the South must be able to go about their daily lives in safety and dignity, and the Panel calls on all sides to play their part to ensure the security of the population."

The panel, meanwhile, commended the parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the National Congress Party ( NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

"The parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement summoned the courage and political commitment required to ensure that the peace process they embarked upon would be fulfilled by having this referendum take place as stipulated in the Agreement. They are to be commended for this achievement," the statement said.

The Panel is comprised of Benjamin Mkapa, the former President of Tanzania, Antonio Monteiro, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, and Bhojraj Pokharel, a former Chairman of the Election Commission of Nepal.

On Saturday the polling process in south Sudan referendum concluded where the referendum's primary results are expected to be announced by the end of January and the final result by February 14.

Around 17,000 local observers together with 1,200 foreign observers are monitoring the south Sudan referendum which is the major item in the CPA, inked in January 2005 between north and south Sudan, which ended a two-decade civil war between the two sides.