ACT Alliance

By Nils Carstensen

What is the referendum about?
The referendum will decide whether Sudan will continue to be one country, or if the people of the southern parts will vote to separate from the north and form a new independent nation in Africa. The referendum is the product of a peace agreement that ended a civil war between north and south that lasted for over two decades and is thought to have killed 2 million people.

Who will vote?
Only southern Sudanese can vote in the referendum.  Approximately 3.9 million southern Sudanese have registered to vote. The big majority of these live in the south. More than 100,000 will be voting near their homes in northern Sudan and another approximately 60,000 will vote in exile.  At least 60% of registered voters must cast their vote for the referendum to be valid.

When will the referendum take place?
The referendum itself will happen between January 9 and January 15, 2011. Preliminary results may appear a few days after the voting concludes but a final and official result may not be announced before early- or mid-February.

Is the referendum the end of the peace process?
No. The peace agreement between northern and southern Sudan runs until July 2011. Between now and July, a lot of issues will need to be settled. These are difficult issues such as sharing of wealth (most importantly oil), border disagreements and demarcation, issues of citizenship, currency, national assets and external debt. If the outcome of the referendum is separation, negotiations may be expected to become extremely tense, sensitive and complicated.

What about the border areas?
A number of transitional areas between north and south offer up particularly sensitive political disagreements. This is true for the area of Abyei which is expected to have its own referendum, but also for South Kordofan and Blue Nile, where people will not get to vote in a referendum.

What will happen with the oil?
The majority of Sudan's oil resources are in southern Sudan but the only pipeline and port facilities are in northern Sudan. Thus, regardless of the outcome of the referendum, northern and southern Sudan will have to continue to work together on all matters relating to oil production and revenues.

What does the referendum mean for the conflict in Darfur?
Darfur is not in southern Sudan but in the north-west of the country and the conflict issues and parties are different. A final and peaceful conclusion to the north-south conflict could have a positive impact on ongoing attempts to bring peace to Darfur, but this remains to be seen.

Nils Carstensen of Dan Church Aid is ACT's Special Correspondent from southern Sudan for the period of the referendum.

See also:
United Nations graphic and map on the Sudan referendum