On the Issues: Sudan's Referendums
Jacqueline Wilson, USIP senior program officer, talks about south Sudan's referendum and USIP's work on the ground.
January 10, 2010
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Jacqueline Wilson, USIP Academy senior program officer, talks about south Sudan's referendum and USIP's work on the ground.
- On Sunday, January 9, Sudan will begin polling in two referendums. How did these come about?
- What steps has Sudan taken to prepare for the polling?
- What work is USIP doing to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement?
On Sunday, January 9, Sudan began polling in two referendums. How did these come about?
Actually, there were supposed to be two referendums but there will only be one conducted on January 9, 2011.
The provisions for the referendum came about as part of the negotiation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed January 9, 2005 which was designed to stop the civil war that had gripped Sudan for much of its independence. The north and south had tried negotiations before. The previous peace agreement, signed in Addis Ababa in 1972, had many similar provisions, but in that agreement the south was only granted autonomy without a referendum for secession. That agreement failed so the provision for autonomy with the additional process of a referendum for potential independence for the south was subsequently included in the CPA.
The other referendum was supposed to be for the area of Abyei which sits along the north/south border. Abyei itself has a unique past in that the area was administered by the north of Sudan for part of its history. Abyei was addressed in a special section of the CPA which allowed for the people of Abyei to have their own referendum to determine whether Abyei would be in the north or south. The sticking point now is primarily about the Misseriya and determining which of them is eligible to vote in the Abyei referendum. It is very complicated, and the issue is still under negotiation. Many people are hoping for a last-minute compromise, but in any case the Abyei referendum is likely delayed indefinitely until the eligibility to vote issue is resolved.
What steps has Sudan taken to prepare for the polling?
Although everyone has known the timeline of the CPA called for these referendums to happen within specific dates, the process really seemed to be slow in coming, and many observers feel the north was almost in denial over the referendum. Only recently in fact, have public statements been made by northern officials that indicate their willingness to accept the outcome of the southern referendum, even if it results in a vote for secession, which it almost certainly will. So since 2005, there have been numerous commissions and committees doing work peripherally related to the referendum, but really not much was done in advance.
Over the past several months there have been many rather last-minute efforts to ensure the referendum happens on time. A referendum commission was established, and the referendum laws and regulations had to be negotiated. The voter registration process seemed to go smoothly, but the voting materials were printed so recently there was fear the snowstorms in Europe could delay the process! But reports say that the U.N., USAID and other international actors as well as the Sudanese themselves have worked extremely hard to see the process come to fruition, and now the materials seem to be in place. International observer teams are in place or are deploying now.
All seems set for the referendum voting to continue as scheduled. That said, results might take weeks to be announced as the challenges of logistics in the south are tremendous.
What work is USIP doing to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement?
The first USIP staff working in Sudan after the CPA was signed arrived in February 2005. So we really hit the ground running, conducting conflict resolution training workshops and working with Sudanese universities and civil society organizations from the beginning. We have continued this work and much more during the entire interim period, working across the north from eastern Sudan to Darfur and in Southern Kordofan, and across the south from Yei to Malakal to Aweil to Rumbek to Juba!
More recently USIP and others have been supporting the parties as they moved toward negotiation on the many important issues which should be resolved before the referendum to help ensure the process is successful. USIP’s Grants program, for example, funded a significant report, published by Concordis International about the north/south borders which was intended to help inform difficult and sensitive border demarcation and border management issues. USIP also held many public events here in Washington, D.C. to facilitate discussion about key elements in the CPA implementation process including the April 2010 elections.
Our Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding has conducted a series of workshops on both Election Violence Prevention and Referendum Violence Prevention, and we have been conducting a longer term peacebuilding project in the western grazing corridor to help communities grapple with the challenges related to livelihoods and stability during the referendum and beyond.
USIP staff have also supported some of the critical processes. I and my colleague Linda Bishai deployed as international observers in support of the Carter Center mission to observe the April elections, and Dr. Bishai is deployed now to observe the referendum.
USIP has published many important documents such as reports about various scenarios which could potentially play out in the run-up and immediate post-referendum time period. These reports generated many important discussions and served as an eye-opener for many.
In short, we have continued building on our reputation to convene the stakeholders and hold informed discussions about the important issues in this process. So as you can see, USIP has been very engaged in supporting the CPA implementation.
