There should be no stone unturned in the referendum process – South Sudan speaker

November 21, 2010 (JUBA) – The Speaker of Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly, James Wani Igga, said there should be no stone unturned in the referendum process that appears likely to lead to the independence of Southern Sudan.

Igga told the Southern Sudan lawmakers in Rumbek on Saturday that they were elected and entrusted by the people to successfully take them through the referendum.

The top lawmaker in the semi-autonomous region said the south’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) would not have signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with the then Sudan government without incorporating the right of self-determination.

“I want you to underline this…all the things signed in the CPA would have been meaningless without the referendum…This referendum must leave no stone unturned,” he said.

The Speaker’s comments come after accusations by Southern Sudan government officials that the northern dominant ruling political party, the National Congress Party (NCP) had been intimidating the Southern Sudanese in the north to register.

The SPLM fears that if southern Sudanese in the north register but are prevented from voting, when the poll begins in January, then the 60% threshold for participation required by the referendum law may not be met and therefore vote declared invalid.

Meanwhile the Juba parliamentarians are preparing to begin awareness and participation activities across the ten states of South Sudan as registration continues until December 1, 2010.

Around five million southerners, living in both north and south Sudan and abroad, are eligible to sign up for the referendum which could result in the African continent’s largest country being split into two.

For the south to secede in a valid referendum, there must be an absolute majority of a minimum of 50 percent for independence plus one vote, and 60 percent of those eligible must also have cast their ballots.

(ST)