Warrap leads south Sudan states in preliminary secession vote results

January 21, 2011 (ABYEI) – Just few days after conducting a weeklong plebiscite on self determination for the people of south Sudan, referendum officials from Warrap, a one of the ten southern states announced Friday that the state had voted for secession.

Speaking from Kuacjok, capital of state, Makuc Makuc Ngongdit, SPLM secretary in the state said over 99% of the voters chose separation of south Sudan from what he termed as “old Sudan”. He described those that had voted for separation as “courageous and patriotic people”.

In the statement signed by four senior members of the south’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), who were tasked to monitor the conduct of the exercise through Referendum Operations Room, described the preliminary results as “exciting”.

“The exciting preliminary results indicate that Warrap State leads in turn out and in the overall voting for secession of south Sudan; therefore, the SPLM congratulates each individual voter, all the people of Warrap State, the state authority, and State referendum task force, each county commissioner of the six counties and each executive chief and his people. We also congratulate SPLM Domestic Observers, individual and members of local and international civil society volunteer domestic observers”, said the officials.

Commending the role played by the state referendum high committee which they described as “diligent” at all levels, they said the results reflect the true spirit and desire for freedom, peace and prosperity.

They said attributed the successful conduct of the referendum in the area to the availability of adequate resources. “The logistics of the referendum process was adequate and effective as planned and implemented by the state high committee and its partners throughout the state, hence resulting into the process being orderly, peaceful, transparent and of course credible,” said the officials.

Conducting interviews with referendum officials from various states and counties of the south Sudan, Sudan Tribune gathered figures indicating that the majority have voted for separation.

In Lakes state’s capital Rumbek, which during the two decades of the north-south civil war, served as headquarters of the SPLM and their military wing the SPLA, 296,048 were votes cast for independence, representing more than 99.9 percent of registered voters. Just 226 opted to remain united with the north – less than a tenth of one percent – with the balance made up by blank or invalid ballots.

In Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, 202,381 peope, representing 99.93 percent of votes were cast were for secession. Only 144 people, representing, 0.07% voted for the south to remain part of a united Sudan

In Central Equatoria, which includes the regional capital Juba and is the south’s second most populous state, 429,729 people, representing 98.91 percent of the votes cast, opted for secession. Celebrations have already begun in many places although South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir Mayardit last week called on the population to wait for the announcement of the final result from the referendum commission.

Yel Mayar, a deputy governor of Warrap state told Sudan Tribune he was looking forward to official results to be announced.

“This is a great and encouraging result,” said Yel, who said was among the first to vote. “This is what everybody who was eager to vote wants to hear. These results represent exactly the will of our people. It is now clear to the internationally community that this is what the south has been fighting for all these decades”.

“The south wants to be [more] free than 99.96 percent. They need to be hundred percent free,” he said. “The people of Warrap State have come out openly to tell the whole world what they want and I am sure that the rest of the south will now follow the same trend.”

(ST)