Email
Print
Save
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
January 16, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) – Over 99 % of the total eligible Sudanese voters in Ethiopia have cast their votes in south Sudan’s independence referendum before polls closed late on Saturday, the country’s Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) office said on Sunday.
“In Kingudu, where most voting took place, 5,051 of the total registered 5,067 have cast their votes”, GoSS deputy head of mission David Dang told Sudan Tribune.
The Southern Sudanese official said the week-long voting wrapped up peacefully with no security threats and vote counting has already began since polls closed yesterday.
“Vote counting from Ethiopia’s three polling stations is in progress at this point and we will later on the day announce outcomes,” he added.
International observer missions from the African Union, European Union and Carter Center were deployed to monitor the voting process in Ethiopia. The observer missions have commended the peaceful completion of the referendum voting.
According to analysts, the South Sudan is expected to break away from north to form Africa’s newest state – the first since Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993.
The referendum is a key component of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended decades of north-South civil war.
(ST)
Latest Comments & Analysis
South Sudan after Paanthou crisis 2012-05-14 01:35:00 By Steve Paterno May 13, 2012 — Diplomatically, when the Paanthou crisis occurred, South Sudan found itself unprepared and underrepresented in the diplomatic front. The diplomatic ferocity of its (...)
Sudan and South Sudan: Where are they heading? 2012-05-12 05:59:20 By Luka Biong Deng May 11, 2012 — When the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in 2005, the Sudanese and the international community were relieved as Sudan would be put on the path of (...)
Khartoum and the language of war: Who’s really listening? 2012-05-12 05:31:52 By Eric Reeves May 11, 2012 — Every day it becomes clearer that unless Juba buckles before Khartoum's extortionate demands, on a range of issues, then the regime will settle matters (...)
MORE