Southern Sudanese in Darfur register for referendum
Residents of Darfur who claim Southern origin began registering yesterday in Darfur for the January referendum on the independence of South Sudan. Their registration will last 17 days, running through 1 December 2010. There are more than 2600 voting centers including 165 in North Sudan.
Residents of Darfur who claim Southern origin began registering yesterday in Darfur for the January referendum on the independence of South Sudan. Their registration will last 17 days, running through 1 December 2010. There are more than 2600 voting centers including 165 in North Sudan.Darfur’s three states have a total of 13 registration centres. There are approximately 45.000 Darfuris who may be eligible to register, said Ibrahim Gambari, UNAMID Joint Chief Representative speaking to Radio France International.
Turnout was high in parts of the South, according to media reports. George Benjamin, the spokesman for Sudan’s referendum commission, told Radio Dabanga that initial reports indicated high rates of turnout in the South and low turnout in the North. He said that the reasons for this were the relocation of some centers and the religious holiday.
The President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, registered on Monday morning at Dr. John Garang de Mabior Mausoleum. In a short media briefing, Kiir appealed to the population to register in large numbers.
(Photo: UNAMID / Albert Gonzalez Farran)
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