South Sudan referendum commission receives most of the voting material
Monday 25 October 2010 Send
Customer officers and officials from the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission check voter registration books for southern voters living in Sudan’s northern states, at the airport in Khartoum, October 24, 2010 (Reuters)Sudan official news agency (SUNA) quoted SSRC spokesperson Jamal Ibrahim as saying that the customs authorities in Khartoum airport released six packages containing registration books to the commission.
Ibrahim speaking to SUNA said that the quantity they have in their possession now should be enough to cover southern voters living in Sudan’s 15 northern states. Millions more will soon arrive in the southern capital Juba, he added.
The SSRC official suggested that more may be needed during the late stages of the referendum process which is slated to start on January 9.
"This is a giant step forward ... When the materials are around everyone feels confident that these things are going ahead," commission deputy chairman Chan Reek Madut told Reuters from Juba.
The commission has already started training referendum registration staff, and organizers still hope to start voting on Jan. 9, he added. "That is our hope and it is our aim," he said.
Under an earlier ti####ble set out in legislation governing the plebiscite, the whole registration exercise should have been completed three months before the vote.
The change would require a legislative change to become legal, experts say.
Sudanese officials suggested in recent weeks that a postponement of the referendum may be necessary pending resolution of outstanding issues such as border demarcation, citizenship, national debt, wealth sharing and water agreements.
The Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) in control of the South has rejected any idea of a delay.
The National Congress Party (NCP) has already announced publicly that a simultaneous referendum in the oil-rich region of Abyei cannot be held as scheduled because of disagreements over who can vote. U.S. brokered talks in Ethiopia on the issue have failed to break the deadlock.
Both sides are scheduled to meet again in Addis Ababa on Abyei next Wednesday under the auspices of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) headed by former South African Thabo Mbeki.
Sudan government ’committed to January referendum’
Meanwhile the U.S. Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, disclosed today that he has received a written confirmation from Sudanese officials that they are committed to hold the referendum on time.
"Just today, the government of Sudan handed me a resolution vowing in concrete language to abide by the outcome of the referendum, whatever it is, and pledging its cooperation with its neighbors to the south on a wide range of economic, political and security issues," Kerry told reporters as he left the country.
If the government kept its word, the US would be able to forge a "new relationship" with Sudan, Kerry added.
"That will have a profound effect on the ways in which the Obama administration and the Congress of the United States can then respond, in terms of our economic relationship and other relationships," he told reporters.
"Our goal is to see a peaceful Sudan, one with which we can have a normal relationship and, indeed, a long-term, growing relationship."
The Sudanese Foreign Minister, Ali Karti during his meeting with Kerry on Sunday expressed his hope that the visiting lawmaker will be aware about the reality of the situation in Sudan, especially with regard to the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the developments in Darfur.
Kerry said that he held successful and constructive talks with the Sudanese officials on the CPA implementation namely the referendum in South Sudan and Abyei. He stressed that the whole world is observing the developments in Sudan and is looking forward to help it solve its issues.
عبدالله الشقليني
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست