Voter Registration Begins for Southern Sudan Referendum in Ethiopia

December 2, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) - The Southern Sudanese Referendum Commission (SSRC), an independent commission from both the Sudan and autonomous Southern region governments, started registering Southern Sudanese on November 15, 2010, to enable them to take part in the referendum scheduled to be held from January 9 to 15, 2011.

The SSRC has made provisions to enable Southern Sudanese people who live outside Sudan to register and vote for the issue of the referendum.

On Monday 15 November, all three referendum centres in Ethiopia opened on time and in full readiness to meet the needs of the Southern Sudanese Diaspora. On 16 November, the centre in Fugnido refugee camp closed due to procedural issues with the Ethiopian government refugee agency ‘ARRA’. This was followed by a similar closure on 22 November at the centre in Sherkole refugee camp. These issues have been resolved and both centres have now reopened.

The SSRC representative for OCV in Ethiopia, Mr. Opiew Obang Kwot, has expressed his relief that all three referendum centres are fully operational, saying, “This will help address the needs of large numbers of Southern Sudanese in Ethiopia who might not have been able to register to vote otherwise. This is a historic occasion, the eyes of the world are on Southern Sudan at this time, but more importantly, this is a unique opportunity for Southern Sudanese people to have their say and decide what they want. Don’t miss this chance – come and register because without registering, you won’t be able to vote.

Out-of-country registration and voting (OCV) have been established in the eight countries with the largest number of Southern Sudanese outside Sudan, which comprise Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Canada, the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and Australia. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) will be assisting the SSRC in organising the OCV.

Voters are classified into three categories; those who belonged to one of the indigenous ethnic communities residing in Southern Sudan on or before January 1, 1956; those who can trace their ancestry to one of the indigenous ethnic communities in Southern Sudan but have not permanently resided there (without interruption)before or since January 1956; and those who do not belong to any of the indigenous ethnic communities in Southern Sudan but have their parents or grand parents permanently residing in the South without interruption.

Voters in the first category can vote in any of the referendum centres, while those in the other categories can only vote in Southern Sudan where they can be identified.

“This is a historic occasion; the eyes of the world are on Southern Sudan at this time,” Opiew Obang Kwot, representative for the OCV in Ethiopia, told Fortune. “This is a unique opportunity for Southern Sudanese people to have their say and decide what they want.”