Historic Vote Underway in Sudan
Sudan’s referendum vote for self determination began on January 9, 2011, as part of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended a 22 year old civil war in Sudan that killed 2 million people and left 4 million were displaced.
Today, there are 3.9 million registered voters in Sudan, of which 60 percent is needed for the vote to be valid.
With the support of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission initiated the referendum. UNMIS provided technical and logistical by supporting voter registration, civic education, and security. Due to ongoing concerns of violence, UNMIS prepared security plans and trained almost 10,000 southern Sudanese Police officers for the referendum security. Thus far, there has been minimal violence in Juba, the southern Capitol, but on the border region of Abyei 33 people were killed during the first day of voting.
Working together with the UN, the United States has also been actively engaged in the peace process in Sudan, including the appointment of Special Envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration who has shepherded many of the negotiation for a peaceful Sudan. For more information, please visit the following links to read statements from:
The election will come to a close on January 15, 2011, and the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission will then begin verifying and counting the ballots. Preliminary results will be released on February 1, 2011, and results will be made official on February 6, 2011.
Learn more about UN Peacekeeping in Sudan - visit our pages on the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).
