20110117
africanews

The southern Sudan referendum counting process has started after voting ended. Election officials will keep declaring preliminary results until final results are officially announced on February 7th, 2011. External voting centres in Great Britain, Canada and the US have recently started counting, with reports saying that the majority of votes favour secession.

Many local, regional and international organizations are monitoring this process. The Carter Center-an organization founded by the former US president Jimmy Carter-is also monitoring this referendum.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on January 9th, 2005 stipulates that two separate referenda should take place in southern Sudan and Abyei, in which southern Sudanese people would choose either to remain united with the north or separate to establish a new state in the south.

The people of Abyei, however, were expected to vote separately in a referendum to determine whether they want to remain in the north or go back to the south, but this referendum did not take place due to disagreement between the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) over voter eligibility.

Analysts believe this referendum will likely lead to the creation of a new state in East Africa.

Many issues are still pending between the south and north. South-north Borders have not yet been defined, while Abyei issue remains a volatile point that could drag the two sides back to war. A week ago, more than 33 people were killed in fierce clashes between the nomadic Arab Messeirya tribe and local policemen deployed to the area. Southern Sudan referendum will be succeeded by a six-month transitional period in which south and north will settle their pending issues.