Four months before Southern Sudan’s referendum on whether Southern Sudan would secede was scheduled to take place, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton called the situation “a ticking time bomb of enormous consequence.”  Yet despite the international community’s fears that the referendum would lead to renewed conflict, the process was notable for its relatively smooth and peaceful nature. The peaceful referendum represented the culmination of immense political, logistical and diplomatic maneuvering by both domestic actors and the international community. Leading the process on the domestic front was the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (based in Khartoum) and the Southern Sudan Referendum Bureau (based in Juba).

This event featured the Chairmen of the Commission and Bureau and the Commission’s Secretary General for a conversation on the referendum. They shared their insider perspectives on how the referendum moved from what many observers saw as potential disaster to a successful process, and commented on the future of the two Sudans.