Abyei will not be among West Kordofan electoral districts: official
October 19, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The head of West Kordofan’s electoral commission said that the disputed area of Abyei should not be among the electoral constituencies established for next year’s elections.
“Abyei district is not among the state’s constituencies for the national or state elections,” said Abdel-al-Jabar Ibrahim on Sunday.
Ibrahim, who was speaking to the election officers after a swearing-in ceremony in Al-Fulah town, added that the districts covered by his commission are located north of the line 10 of the town of Abyei.
The National Election Commission (NEC) refused calls by the opposition parties to postpone the general elections scheduled April 2015.
Last month, the NEC announced its intention to finalise the delineation of geographical constituencies for the 2015 elections and revealed that the contested Abyei region will be included in the electoral process.
Abyei is one of the contentious items in the negotiations between Khartoum and Juba as the two sides failed to agree on who can participate in a referendum to determine the future of the region.
The UN Security Council (UNSC) recently urged to the two sides to establish a joint administration and to resume the work of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC) “to ensure steady progress” on the implementation of the June 2011 Agreement.
(ST)