Southern Sudanese independence referendum, 2011
Election results Yes or no Votes Percentage Yes 3,792,518 98.83% No 44,888 1.17% Valid votes 3,837,406 99.62% Invalid or blank votes 14,588 0.38% Total votes 3,851,994 100.00% Election results by Region   Yes   No

South Sudan

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of South Sudan

Constitution (history) President Salva Kiir Mayardit Vice-President Riek Machar National Legislature National Legislative Assembly Speaker James Wani Igga Council of States Judiciary Supreme Court States State Governors Counties Elections Presidential: 2010 Referendum: 2011 Political parties Foreign relations UNMIS UNISFA UNMISS

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A referendum took place in Southern Sudan from 9 to 15 January 2011,^[1] on whether the region should remain a part of Sudan or become independent.^[2][3] The referendum was one of the consequences of the 2005 Naivasha Agreement between the Khartoum central government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M).

A simultaneous referendum was supposed to be held in Abyei on whether to become part of Southern Sudan but it has been postponed due to conflict over demarcation and residency rights.^[4]

On 7 February 2011, the referendum commission published the final results, with 98.83% voting in favour of independence.^[5] While the ballots were suspended in 10 of the 79 counties for exceeding 100% of the voter turnout, the number of votes were still well over the requirement of 60% turnout, and the majority vote for secession is not in question.

The predetermined date for the creation of an independent state was 9 July 2011.^[6]

Background[link]

  Sudan proper

  Darfur

  Eastern Front, area of operations July 2006

  South Sudan (held referendum in 2011)

  Abyei (referendum for 2011 postponed indefinitely)

  States to hold "popular consultations" in 2011: South Kurdufan (process suspended)^{[citation needed]} and Blue Nile (status unclear)^{[citation needed]}

The prerequisites for the referendum included a census, which was used to define how wealth and political power will be apportioned between regions. The census was the basis of a voter registration process, which was also used for the national elections in 2010, which in turn set the stage for the referendum. The census was delayed three times. Problems included disagreements between the north and south over what they are obliged to do by the Naivasha Agreement, funding difficulties and an enormous logistical challenge. In the south, unmapped minefields from the war continue to make movement difficult, while up to five million Sudanese are nomadic. Up to two million internally displaced persons from the south remain in camps around Khartoum, in the center of the country, while refugees remain in Uganda and Kenya. A further complication results from the conflict in Darfur to the west, where civilians who have fled attacks refuse to take part in census out of fear that the government would use the results against them. Darfuri rebel groups are unanimous in their denunciation of the planned census, while the Justice and Equality Movement group has threatened to attack any census-taker.^[7]

There were disagreements between the National Congress Party (NCP) and the SPLA/M about what proportion of voters will have to be in favour of independence (the NCP wanted at least 75% support required), whether Southern Sudanese living in the north should be allowed to vote, and the post-referendum separation process (including the division of the national debt).^[8] Modest progress was made in early September 2010, but disagreements on fundamental points remain.^[9]

It is envisaged that "popular consultations" in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, without a clear reference to referendums and/or independence, would raise concerns about the future of these regions.^[10][11]

According to the terms of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (or CPA),^[12] in October 2009, the central government of Sudan and the South Sudanese government agreed that turnout would have to be at least 60% of 3.8 million voters would be necessary to validate. In this case, a simple majority vote in favour of independence would result in secession for South Sudan;^[13][14] should the turnout be insufficient in the first referendum, a second one will be held within sixty days.^[15]

Campaign[link]

Sudanese officials have said throughout campaigning that, regardless of their pro-unity or pro-separatist stance, the ultimate aim was a peaceful transition. Vice President Kiir acknowledged his administration had failed to deliver "the dividends of peace," and noted that a campaign to confiscate arms was a solution to maintaining stability.^[16]

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir said that the southern region had a right to choose to secede and that the referendum was helpful because unity "could not be forced by power." He also said he would respect the outcome of the vote and support the south.^[17] However, he also said that though secession was a right it may not resolve issues for the south: "The stability of the south is very important to us because any instability in the south will have an impact on the north. If there is a war in your neighbour's house, you will not be at peace. The south suffers from many problems. It's been at war since 1959. The south does not have the ability to provide for its citizens or create a state or authority."

Negotiations continue between the ruling parties in the north and south on potential post-referendum arrangements—looking at future issues such as citizenship, security, finance and wealth sharing. Minister of Petroleum Mr. Deng said he fears that an immediate budget cut for the north would ignite a war. "In order to avoid conflict, we could look to a phase-out arrangement whereby you provide the north some [oil] until they get an alternative.”^[18] The pipeline to export southern oil currently cuts through the north, and the south has not begun construction on a pipeline that would avoid that route. In an article published by the Washington Post on 21 September 2010, Deng noted that an interim agreement could help both north and south and result in a “win-win”. The northern government said it would assume most of the country's $38bn debt if secession was voted upon.^[19]

National campaigns were being held by both parties to address issues of potential clashes ahead of the referendum. President Al-Bashir wanted to reassure and assuage tension surrounding the issue of citizenship rights in the case of south Sudan secession. He said that even if southerners opted for secession, "the sentimental unity and social relations between north and south Sudan will remain standing." Al-Bashir vowed that the rights of southern citizens staying in the north after secession would be safeguarded, saying that his party would not allow anyone to infringe on the rights of southerners in the north, their properties, freedoms and residence regardless of citizenship.^[20]

The northern Justice and Peace Forum Party advocated separation of the country citing unity as a "bad forced marriage." Its chairman Al Taieb Mustafa said that the prospective support for the referendum would be "the real independence day for Sudan."^[21]

On 8 January, the mood in Juba, the southern capital, and the wider region was said to be jubilant with final pro-secession rallies celebrating independence in advance.^[12]

Egyptian and Libyan involvement[link]

Early during the referendum process, an Egyptian proposal was made to have a confederation between the north and south of the country. However, President Omar al-Bashir said it was not being considered because the issue of the referendum was about "unity or separation. Our brothers in the south are refusing at the moment the proposal of confederation. If the separation was the result of the referendum, the two sides are going to negotiate over the future of relations between them."^[22]

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi later went to Sudan to try to assuage the conflict, though both had previously called for the country to stay united. Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the meeting sought to ensure the referendum could be held in a "climate of freedom, transparency and credibility, reflecting the will of the sons of the south" and also that both the South and North could strengthen bonds.^[23]

Issues[link]

Sudan

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Sudan

Constitution President Omar al-Bashir Vice Presidents Ali Osman Taha Adam Yousef Cabinet National Legislature Council of States National Assembly Judiciary The Supreme Court The Court of Appeals The Public Court The District Courts Town & Rural Courts States State Governors Districts Darfur Regional Authority Eastern Sudan States Coordinating Council Abyei Area Political parties Elections: 2000, 2010 UNMIS UNAMID UNISFA Human rights Foreign relations Foreign aid

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Observers and key players feared violence ahead of the South Sudan referendum for a variety of reasons.

Oil[link]

This section requires expansion.

It was asked by Mr. Whom if Sudan's oil boom was a blessing or a curse for having failed to better the lives of residents.^[24] The majority of Sudan's oil fields are located in the south.^[25]

Abyei[link]

Line for voter registration in Abyei, 2009

Talks on resolving the status and of the eligibility criteria for voters in the disputed Abyei region broke down in October 2010, although both the central ruling NCP and southern SPLM said their respective teams "will meet again in Ethiopia toward the end of October to continue their discussions. The parties continue to commit themselves to their mutual goal of avoiding a return to conflict."^[26]

Didiri Mohammad Ahmad, an NCP official, said it was "not possible" to hold the referendum on the future of Abyei on time, and it could be delayed for months or be settled without a vote. He added that "We agreed that in the next talks we will try to look for other alternatives."^[27]

Sudan’s Defense Minister, Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, suggested the vote may have to be postponed. "According to the reality on the ground...border issues and Abyei must be resolved within the framework of one nation because doing so in the framework of two countries open[s] the door for foreign interference. The referendum is not a goal but a tool to consolidate and promote security and stability. This [UDI] is illegal and will not be recognised by the African Union or the other [organisations] because it would contradict the peace agreement and its procedures."^[28] Sudan's UN ambassador Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman told the Security Council that "It is evident that any attempt to conduct the plebiscite before achieving an acceptable settlement between the two parties [in Abyei] will mean only a return to war."^[29] The United States said it was working to avoid the "danger" that would follow the failure to hold the referendum.^[30]

The government Sudan asked the UN for the printing of ballots for the referendum as diplomats and the electoral commission warned of any further delay would miss the deadline to hold the election.^[31]

Abyei was not finalised for the vote.^[32]

Bishtina Mohammed El Salam of the Misseriya, who dominate the region along with the Dinka tribe, said he would not accept Abyei's seceding and joining the south even though the latter favoured secession. "If the Dinka take this decision – to annex Abyei to the south – there will be an immediate war without any excuse. We think they should be reasonable and think about it. They should know that those who are pushing them to take that decision will not give them any back-up."^[33]

South Kurdufan and Blue Nile[link]

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (January 2011)

"South is for southerners" - tensions from the civil war were a factor in the vote.

The status of the Nuba Mountains region of South Kurdufan and Blue Nile is more complex as ethnic data is less clear.

In the Blue Nile, African ethnic groups such as the Berta, Anuak and Koma are dominant in the South. The Northern part, however, has an Arab majority, although the enclave of Ingessana in Tabi Hills^[34] is mostly Animist and was targeted by the northern forces during the civil war.^[35] The total population stands at 832,112 according to the Election Commission.^[36] During the 2010 provincial elections, the NCP won 29 out of the 48 seats, while the SPLM won 17 seats. In the National Assembly elections, the NCP won 6 out of the 10 seats, while the SPLM got 4.^[37] However, the SPLM accused the NCP of fraud. The separate gubernatorial election was won by the SPLM candidate, who polled almost 5% votes more than his NCP rival.^[38]

The Nuba Mountain was home to some 1,000,000 ethnic Nuba during the 1980.^[39] A total of 99 different tribes used to live in this region.^[40] When the civil war broke out during the late 1980s, the Nuba aligned with the SPLA. The vast majority of Nuba were taken as prisoners of war and forcibly relocated to camps in North Kordofan and Khartoum. When the fighting ended, only about half the population survived. The rest either surrendered and moved north or were killed during the fighting. After the signing of the peace accord, some of the Nuba returned to the mountains, but the tribal elders refused to re-admit them into the tribes as they feared the abductees (mostly young men) were too Islamised. They were finally allowed back into the tribal fold after a 6 month long re-education camp.^[39]

The SPLA controls four counties in Southern Kordofan: Lagawa, Kadugli, Rashad and Dilling.^[41] In 2005, the Arab dominated West Kordofan was merged in to South Kordofan, resulting in Arabs gaining a majority in the new province.

The 2008 census reported the total population of South Kordofan at 1,406,404 (though the SPLA claims many ethnic Nuba living in remote regions were not counted). This figure includes the Abyei region and it is not known how many are Nuba, Ngok and Baggara. During the 2010 National Assembly election, the NCP won 13 out of the 17 seats, while the SPLM won 4 seats.^[37] The gubernatorial elections were postponed to 2011.

During the 2010 Presidential elections, the NCP received 69.3% of the votes in South Kordofan and 56.6% in Blue Nile, while the SPLM received 18.5% of the votes in South Kordofan and 32.7% in Blue Nile.^[42]

Ahmed Harun of NCP defeated Abdelaziz al-Hilu of the SPLM in the 2011 South Kordofan Gubernatorial elections. Harun received 201,455 votes compared to Hilu's 194,955 votes. NCP won 33 seats in the legislature to SPLM's 22 seats.^[43] SPLM refused to acknowledge the results, accusing the NCP of voter intimidation and electoral fraud.^[44]

Religion and tribes[link]

Religion was also expected to significantly influence the referendum.^[45] Christian commentators have noted that there is a "climate of chronic discrimination against Sudanese Christians and other minorities."^[46] For some, religion was not the issue,^[47] while other southerners objected to alleged "Islamisation."^[48][49][50] Black Sudanese had also claimed to have faced racism which affected their choice.^[47][51]

President Omar al-Bashir said dual citizenship would not be allowed. According to the CPA, 20 percent of civil service jobs were reserved for southerners, which would then be lost if the country splits.^[52]

Questions were also asked about the status of tribes such as the Nuba and Misseriya of South Kordogan that inhabit the border regions with South Sudan.^[53]

Polls[link]

When questioned in a poll 97% of South Sudanese answered that they would be voting for independence.^[54]

An early poll of 1,400 individuals was carried out by a coalition of civil society organizations in Southern Sudan prior to the January referendum, indicating that 97 percent of voters would likely vote for secession. According to John Andruga, chairman of the coalition, 100 percent of respondents in the states of Unity and Eastern Equatoria would vote for secession. A similar survey carried out one year prior by the US-based National Democratic Institute had indicated that 90 percent of voters would vote for secession.^[55]

Controversies[link]

Authorities in both the north and south of Sudan have been accused of harassment and intimidation against the media in order to avoid dissenting coverage. Rights groups warned the media could be slapped with further restrictions.^[56]

The Youth and Sports Minister, Haj Majid Suwar, of the National Congress Party (NCP) suggested the government "may not recognise the results" and would "talk to ... the USA and the UN and the AU and say that the Sudan People's Liberation Movement didn't fulfill the CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement" by allowing open campaigning and the withdrawal of their soldiers from southern areas.^[57] He also said that the potential borders between them would have to be drawn up pending redeployment of the SPLM's forces to the 1956 border.^[58]

Salva Kiir, the president of the southern region and the first vice president of Sudan, said that the referendum's timing was important as there was "a risk of a return to war in case of delay or denial of this exercise, and it would be on a very massive scale."^[59] Kuol Deim Kuol, the spokesman for the SPLM's military, accused the NCP of "just looking for a pretext of starting war" and called Suwar a "war monger."^[58]

Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, accused the SPLM of breaching the terms of the peace deal, and warned of a return to conflict if the disputes were not settled before the referendum. Despite that, he said he was committed to holding the referendum, but insisted on settling differences over the shared border and how to share oil, debt and Nile river water.^[60]

The NCP accused the SPLM of discouraging southerners who were living in the north of the country from registering, as the SPLM threatened not to recognise the referendum if its demands were not met.^[61] Southerners in the North were reluctant to vote because of fears of being uprooted from their homes.^[62] Muslims in the border provinces of the South also expressed fear of a campaign of violence that could be unleashed as a consequence of the referendum.^[63] Many feared a return to civil war, should the referendum fail because of the increasingly heated rhetoric.^[64] Along with Chad, Sudan sought to secure the border area ahead of the referendum.^[65]

In addition to warnings of civil war, it was also read that a possible civil war could involve the Lord's Resistance Army and bring Uganda into the conflict.^[66]

Despite rifts amongst Southern parties, more than 20 parties ironed over their differences to put a show of unity before the referendum.^[67] Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal also said the referendum could "reignite violence...rather than bring peace," while he said the vote must be "fair and free."^[68]

The United States extended sanction against Sudan on 1 November 2010 in order to pressure the government to stick to the referendum deadline.^[69] The US then offered to drop Sudan from an US list of state-sponsors of terrorism if the two referenda were held on time and the results were respected.^[70] They again partook in statement before the referendum in lauding al-Bashir's statement to respect the vote.^[71]

Following concerns from the UN about delays, representatives of both regions affirmed a commitment to hold the referendum on time;^[72] a media campaign was also launched to raise awareness and increase the turnout.^[73]

Minni Minnawi, the only Sudan Liberation Army faction signatory to the Darfur Peace Agreement, quit the agreement and resigned his post as Special Advisor to the President, saying the deal had failed. He consequently moved to Juba in the south saying the referendum would be successful as southerners "reject the policy of this [Khartoum] government" and the north would then be a "failed state." In return the government declared Minnawi an "enemy" and closed his Khartoum office.^[74]

In December 2010, the Constitutional Court agreed to carry out an investigation into a petition filed by local lawyers seeking the dissolution of the electoral body that was organising the referendum.^[75]

Despite calls from the government in south Sudan that northerners living in the south should be protected, some northerners who were uncertain of their future in an independent state started heading north.^[76]

External precedents[link]

Questions were asked if a positive vote on the referendum would set a precedent for other secessionist movements on the African continent. An Al Jazeera English analysis said a few reasons for seeking secession were: a lack of expertise by post-colonial political elites in governing their respective countries and managing natural resources; the impact of the Cold War where many African countries took sides, rendering sovereignty ineffective; tribal prejudices and preferential service that dominate African politics; failure of governments to provide basic freedoms such as guaranteeing full citizenship for all.

Citing these examples, it asked where such a precedent for secession could lead: East Sudan and Darfur, Nigeria or South Africa. As two important members of the African Union the latter two could be reluctant to support a new independent southern Sudan as a recognition thereof could "send a very clear message to these groups in their struggle for autonomy."^[77]

Monitors[link]

This section requires expansion.

Former American President Jimmy Carter, former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and former Tanzanian Prime Minister Joseph Warioba led the Carter Center international observation delegation.^[78] US Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, visited Southern Sudan three times during the referendum period, including during polling.^[79] George Clooney, who is supporting the Satellite Sentinel Project^[80] (using satellites as a conflict early warning system for Sudan), also made visits to Sudan during the referendum period. Several major regional organisations deployed international observers, including the African Union,^[81] the European Union,^[82] the League of Arab States and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).^[83] These organisations issued a joint press statement on the first day of polling.^[84]

Domestic observation organisations also deployed Sudanese men and women to observe the process, these included the Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE),^[85] the Sudan Domestic Elections Monitoring Programme (SuDEMOP)^[86] and the Sudanese Group for Democracy and Elections (SuGDE). Other^[which?] national civil society organisations were also accredited as observers.

Normally, the UN does not deploy electoral observers, however, in response to a request from the parties of the CPA, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Panel on the Referenda in the Sudan was established.^[87] The panel is composed of three senior officials, former Tanzania President Benjamin Mkapa, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal António Monteiro, and Bhojraj Pokharel, a former Chairman of the Election Commission of Nepal, who are appointed by and report to the UN Secretary-General. The panel made periodic visits to Sudan during the referendum period and is supported by field reporting officers and stakeholder-observer liaison officers.

Registration[link]

Registration for the vote started on 15 November with Salva Kiir's appeal for registering en masse. Many of those who fled South Sudan during the civil war returned in the months and weeks leading up to the referendum, with some southern politicians trying to have them play a role in swinging the vote towards independence.^[88][89] Almost four million citizens registered before the deadline on 5 December; as the stream of returnees continued unabated, however, many arrived too late to register for the referendum.^[90][91]

Result[link]

Voting form used in the referendum.

Voting on the referendum began on 9 January 2011. On 12 January, after three days of voting, representatives of the SPLA/M announced that, according to their estimates, the 60 percent turnout threshold required for the referendum's validity (corresponding to around 2.3 million voters) had been reached. Official confirmation came later the same day, when the referendum commission released a statement announcing that turnout would "exceed" the required 60 percent threshold.^[92] Jimmy Carter expressed his belief on 13 January that the referendum would likely meet international standards for both the conduct of the vote and freedom of voters.^[93] The United Nations reported that preliminary results would be expected by 2 February 2011, with final results expected within the following two weeks.^[92][94]

According to preliminary counts reviewed by the Associated Press, consisting of 30,000 ballots in 10 polling stations, the sample had a 95% turnout with 96% in favour of secession, 3% in favour of unity^[95] and the rest invalid. Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil, chairman of the referendum commission, said 83 percent of eligible voters in the south and 53 percent in the north had voted.^[96] The South Sudan Referendum Commission affirmed the validity of the vote, however the vote was still ongoing at the time.^[97]

As voting ended, Sudan again vowed to recognise the result.^[98]

Southern Sudanese independence referendum, 2011[99]
Choice	Votes	Percentage
Yes	3,792,518	98.83%
No	44,888	1.17%
Valid votes	3,837,406	99.62%
Invalid or blank votes	14,588	0.38%
Total votes	3,851,994	100.00%
Voter turnout	97.58%
Turnout required	60.00%

Diaspora voting[link]

Southerners living in Darfur were given the opportunity to vote in the referendum from special polling stations as some tribes advocated unity and others supported separation with a possible ominous precedence for Darfur itself.^[100] Polling stations were also set up in eight countries with large southern Sudanese populations, namely Australia, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States.^[101] In the United States, where an estimated 25,000 to 50,000 southern Sudanese reside, polling booths were opened in eight states: Virginia, Massachusetts, Illinois, Texas, Tennessee, Nebraska, Arizona and Washington.^[102] Similar polling booths were set up in the Canadian cities of Calgary and Toronto, to cater to the south Sudanese population there; an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 Sudanese^{[clarification needed]} live in Canada, about 2,200 of whom had registered to vote in either of the two cities.^[101]

Members of the Sudanese diaspora have been split as to their support for or against separation; members of some tribes advocate unity, while members of other tribes supported separation. Some Canadian Sudanese have called for a boycott of the referendum, accusing the International Organization for Migration, which was tasked with operating the vote in that country, of "being influenced by the government in Khartoum."^[101] Calgary-based journalist Mading Ngor of The New Sudan Vision dismissed these claims as "a conspiracy theory," adding "It's a very fragmented community here along tribal lines."^[101] Although over 99% of those in the south voted for independence, 42% of those who lived in the north at the time voted for unity.^[103]

Security[link]

Several days before voting began, the SPLA/M and a rebel faction led by Lieutenant General George Athor in Jonglei State agreed to a ceasefire agreement after nearly a year of fighting, meaning a halt to military operations, troop movement and recruitment by either side. The agreement was seen as important for a "peaceful voting environment".^[104]

The day before voting began, at least six people were killed in clashes between South Sudan security forces and a pro-Khartoum Sudan militia in Unity state. One person was also killed in clashes between the Misseriya tribe and police in Abyei. The SPLA/M said the fighting started a day earlier because of the Misseriya.^[105] One day into the vote, on 10 January, a further 6 people were killed in clashes near Abyei,^[19] bringing the total to 30 dead in that region.^[106]

Reactions[link]

Domestic

As of 15 January, Radio France Internationale reported that the Sudanese central government in Khartoum had begun to recall ambassadors named by the SPLA as part of the CPA and had stopped shipping material for passports to Juba.^[107] Sudan also became the first state to recognise South Sudan.

International

President of the United States Barack Obama said the result of the vote were "inspiring" as voters decided "their own future [and marked] another step forward in Africa's long journey toward justice and democracy". He also said that the United States would recognise South Sudan's independence when it is formalised in July.

Salva Kiir met the leaders of the Polisario Front Mohammed Abdel-Aziz at an African Union summit. Abdel-Aziz congratulated Kiir for on a successful referendum process. He lauded "the wisdom and courage" of people of South Sudan people for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and expressed his hope that post-referendum arrangements and agreements could be finishing in the interim period before statehood. He also briefed Kiir of the Western Sahara's process to a similar referendum.^[108]

Analysis[link]

The precedence of the vote was seen as important because most African states' borders were decided during colonial times which resulted in a heterogeneous mix of religions, ethnicities and cultures. The Organisation of African Unity, however, refrained from redrawing boundaries for the fear that wars of secession could be sparked.^[109]

Post-electoral issues[link]

This section requires expansion.

New names for an independent country were being suggested, with South Sudan being controversial as it does not offer a break from Sudan.^[110] Over 12 names had been suggested, including Nile Republic, Kush Republic and Azania.^[111]

The SPLM proposed naming the country South Sudan, with Nile Republic and Cush as other possibilities.^[112] The country was then officially named Republic of South Sudan.

Amongst the issues to be handled by a new government are job creation.^[113]

Violence[link]

The Minister of Cooperatives and Rural Development Jimmy Lemi Milla was shot dead in his office along with his bodyguard in an apparent personal feud.^[114]

See also[link]

• Kosovan independence referendum, 1991
• East Timorese independence referendum, 1999
• Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Southern Sudanese independence referendum, 2011

External links[link]

• Republic of South Sudan: Challenges and Opportunities
• Southern Sudan Referendum Commission
• Southern Sudan Referendum Results website (SSRC and SSRB)
• UNDP Support to the Southern Sudan Referendum
• USAID Support to the Southern Sudan Referendum
• Media in Cooperation and Transition – group of Sudanese journalists covering the referendum.
• Sudan Vote Monitor^{[dubious – discuss]} – Sudan Vote Monitor is a collaboration of several Sudanese civil society organisations for independent monitoring of elections
• Sudan Referendum at Gurtong
• Sudan: One Country or Two? collected news and commentary at Aljazeera English
• South Sudan Referendum collected news and commentary at BBC News
• Sudan's Referendum at IRIN News
• Sudan Referendum: "A Real Turning Point for the People of Africa" – video report by Democracy Now!
• Photo Gallery by USAID
• Sudan: Ready to Vote – slideshow by Life magazine

v t e Elections and referendums in South Sudan Presidential elections 2010 Referendums 2011

Republic of the Sudan جمهورية السودان Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān
Flag Emblem
Motto: النصر لنا "Victory is ours"
Anthem: نحن جند الله جند الوطن "Nahnu Jund Allah Jund Al-watan"
Location of  Sudan  (dark blue) – in Africa  (light blue & dark grey) – in the African Union  (light blue)
Capital		Khartoum 15°38′N 032°32′E / 15.633°N 32.533°E / 15.633; 32.533
Largest city		Omdurman[1][2]
Official language(s)		Arabic English
Demonym		Sudanese
Government		Federal presidential republic
-	President	Omar al-Bashir (NCP)
-	Vice President	Ali Osman Taha (NCP) Adam Yousef (NCP)
Legislature		National Legislature
-	Upper house	Council of States
-	Lower house	National Assembly
Establishment
-	Nubian kingdoms	3500 BC
-	Sennar dynasty	1504[3]
-	Unified with Egypt	1821
-	Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	1899
-	Independence	1 January 1956
-	Current constitution	9 January 2005
Area
-	Total	1,886,068 km2 (16th) 728,215 sq mi
Population
-	2008 census	30,894,000 (disputed)[4] (40th)
-	Density	16.4/km2  42.4/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$89.048 billion[5]
-	Per capita	$2,495.902[5]
GDP (nominal)		2012 estimate
-	Total	$53.267 billion[5]
-	Per capita	$2,496[5]
HDI (2011)		0.408[6] (low) (169th)
Currency		Sudanese pound (SDG)
Time zone		East Africa Time (UTC+3)
-	Summer (DST)	Not observed (UTC+3)
Date formats		dd/mm/yyyy
Drives on the		right
ISO 3166 code		SD
Internet TLD		.sd
Calling code		249

Sudan (ⁱ/suːˈdæn/ or /suːˈdɑːn/;^[7] Arabic: السودان‎, as-Sūdān), officially the Republic of the Sudan^[8] (Arabic: جمهورية السودان‎, Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān), sometimes called North Sudan,^[9][10][11] is an Arab state in North Africa (sometimes also considered to be part of the Middle East).^[12] It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. The population of Sudan is a combination of indigenous inhabitants of Nile Valley, and descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula. Due to the process of Arabisation common throughout the rest of the Arab World, today Arab culture predominates in Sudan. The majority of the population of Sudan adheres to Islam. The Nile divides the country between east and west sides.^[13]

The people of Sudan have a long history extending from antiquity which is intertwined with the history of Egypt. Sudan suffered seventeen years of civil war during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) followed by ethnic, religious and economic conflicts between the Muslim Arab northern Sudanese and the mostly animist and Christian Nilotes of Southern Sudan.^[14][15] This led to the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983. Because of continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized in a bloodless coup d'état by colonel Omar al-Bashir in 1989, who thereafter proclaimed himself President of Sudan.^[16] The civil war ended with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement which granted autonomy to what was then the southern region of the country. Following a referendum held in January 2011, South Sudan seceded on 9 July 2011 with the consent of Sudan's President al-Bashir.^[17][18]

A member of the United Nations, Sudan also maintains membership with the African Union, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as serving as an observer in the World Trade Organization.^[19] Its capital is Khartoum, which serves as the political, cultural and commercial centre of the nation. Officially a federal presidential representative democratic republic, the politics of Sudan are widely considered by the international community to take place within an authoritarian system due to the control of the National Congress Party (NCP) of the judiciary, executive and legislative branches of government.^[20]

History[link]

History of Sudan
This article is part of a series
Chronological
Early Sudan
Coming of Islam
Muhammad Ali dynasty
The Mahdiyah
Anglo-Egyptian rule
Independent Sudan (since 1956)
First Civil War (1955–1972)
Nimeiri Era
National Revolutionary Command Council
Second Civil War (1983–2005)
Transitional Military Council
Coalition Governments and al-Bashir Era
Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation
Geographic
Darfur
Timeline
Topical
Economic history
Military history
Social history
Sudan Portal v t e

Kingdom of Kush[link]

The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient Nubian state centered on the confluences of the Blue Nile, White Nile and River Atbara. It was established after the Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt, centered at Napata in its early phase. After King Kashta ("the Kushite") invaded Egypt in the 8th century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as Pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt for a century before being defeated and driven out by the Assyrians. At the height of their glory, the Kushite conquered an empire that stretched from what is now known as South Kordofan all the way to Palestine. The Kingdom of Kush is mentioned in the Bible as having saved the Israelites from the wrath of the Assyrians. The war that took place between King Taharqa and the Assyrian King Sennacherib was a decisive event in western history. During Classical Antiquity, the Nubian capital was at Meroë. In early Greek geography, the Meroitic kingdom was known as Ethiopia. The civilization of Kush was among the first in the world to use iron smelting technology. The Nubian kingdom at Meroe persisted until the 4th century AD. After the collapse of the Kushite empire several states emerged in its former territories, among them Nubia.

Christianity and Islam (543–1821)[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

By the 6th century, fifty states had emerged as the political and cultural heirs of the Meroitic Kingdom. Nobatia in the north, also known as Ballanah, had its capital at Faras, in what is now Egypt; the central kingdom, Muqurra (Makuria), was centred at Dunqulah, about 13 kilometres (10 miles) south of modern Dunqulah; and Alawa (Alodia), in the heartland of old Meroe, which had its capital at Sawba (now a suburb of modern-day Khartoum). In all three kingdoms, warrior aristocracies ruled Meroitic populations from royal courts where functionaries bore Greek titles in emulation of the Byzantine court. A missionary sent by Byzantine empress Theodora arrived in Nobatia and started preaching Christianity about 540 AD. The Nubian kings became Monophysite Christians. However, Makuria was of the Melkite Christian faith, unlike Nobatia and Alodia.

After many attempts at military conquest failed, the Arab commander in Egypt concluded the first in a series of regularly renewed treaties known as Albaqut al-sharim (pactum) with the Nubians that governed relations between the two peoples for more than 678 years. Islam progressed in the area over a long period of time through intermarriage and contacts with Arab merchants and settlers, particularly the Sufi nobles of Arabia. Additionally, exemption from taxation in regions under Muslim rule were also a powerful incentive for conversion.^[21] In 1093, a Muslim prince of Nubian royal blood ascended the throne of Dunqulah as king. The two most important Arab tribes to emerge in Nubia were the Jaali and the Juhayna. Today's northern Sudanese culture combines Nubian and Arabic elements.

During the 16th century, a people called the Funj, under a leader named Amara Dunqus, appeared in southern Nubia and supplanted the remnants of the old Christian kingdom of Alwa, establishing As-Saltana az-Zarqa (the Blue Sultanate), also called the Sultanate of Sennar. The Blue Sultanate eventually became the keystone of the Funj Empire. By the mid-16th century, Sennar controlled Al Jazirah and commanded the allegiance of vassal states and tribal districts north to the Third Cataract and south to the rainforests. The government was substantially weakened by a series of succession arguments and coups within the royal family. In 1820, Muhammad Ali of Egypt sent 4,000 troops to invade Sudan. His forces accepted Sennar's surrender from the last Funj sultan, Badi VII.

Egyptian Turks Period (1821–1885)[link]

Ismail Pacha Sultan of Egypt & Sudan

In 1821, the Albanian-Ottoman ruler of Egypt, Amber Eck, had invaded and conquered northern Sudan. Although technically the Wāli of Egypt under the Ottoman Sultan, Muhammad Ali styled himself as Khedive of a virtually independent Egypt. Seeking to add Sudan to his domains, he sent his third son Ismail (not to be confused with Ismail the Magnificent mentioned later) to conquer the country, and subsequently incorporate it into Egypt. This policy was expanded and intensified by Ibrahim's son, Ismail I, under whose reign most of the remainder of modern-day Sudan was conquered. The Egyptian authorities made significant improvements to the Sudanese infrastructure (mainly in the north), especially with regard to irrigation and cotton production. In 1879, the Great Powers forced the removal of Ismail and established his son Tewfik I in his place. Tewfik's corruption and mismanagement resulted in the Orabi Revolt, which threatened the Khedive's survival. Tewfik appealed for help to the British, who subsequently occupied Egypt in 1882. Sudan was left in the hands of the Khedivial government, and the mismanagement and corruption of its officials.^[22] During the 1870s, European initiatives against the slave trade caused an economic crisis in northern Sudan, precipitating the rise of Mahdist forces.^[23]

Eventually, a revolt broke out in Sudan, led by Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abd Allah, the Mahdi (Guided One), who sought to end foreign presence in Sudan. Mahdi revolution succeed in January 1885. Later that year, the Mahdi's forces attacked and entered Khartoum^{[clarification needed]}, which had been defended by the British Governor-General, Charles George Gordon (also known as Gordon of Khartoum), who was killed. Egypt and Britain subsequently withdrew forces from Sudan leaving the Mahdi and his successor to form a 14 year rule of Sudan.

The Mahdist rule (1885–1899)[link]

Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi ruler of Sudan.

Al Mahdi who set out from Aba Island with a few followers armed with sticks and spears ended by making himself master of almost all the territory formerly occupied by the Egyptian government. His main aim was to conquer Egypt and to follow his conquests by attacking Europe.

The Muslim religion was engrained in him. He offered to the ansars (his followers) and those who surrendered to him a choice between adopting Islam or be killed. The following proclamation was published by the Mahdi: Let all show penitence before God, and abandon all bad and forbidden habits, such as the use of wine and tobacco, lying, degrading acts of the flesh etc. All those who do not pay attention to these principles disobey God and his Prophet and they shall be punished in accordance with the law. These precepts were ferociously enforced. Flogging to death and the cutting off of the hands were the penalties for the most trivial offences.

During the month of Ramadan when absolute austerity was enforced upon his followers, huge crowds awaited the master’s appearance at prayers but they had little notion on what was going on inside the Mahdi’s house. There were several different accounts of his death. Some say that he was poisoned while others assert that typhus or small pox were the cause of his death. He died on 22 June 1885 exactly 5 months after the killing of Gordon.

After a power struggle amongst his deputies, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, with the help primarily of the Baqqara Arabs of western Sudan, overcame the opposition of the others and emerged as unchallenged leader of the Mahdiyah. After consolidating his power, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad assumed the title of Khalifa (successor) of the Mahdi, instituted an administration, and appointed Ansar (who were usually Baqqara) as emirs over each of the several provinces.

Regional relations remained tense throughout much of the Mahdiyah period, largely because of the Khalifa's brutal methods to extend his rule throughout the country. In 1887, a 60,000-man Ansar army invaded Ethiopia, penetrating as far as Gondar. In March 1889, king Yohannes IV of Ethiopia, marched on Metemma; however, after Yohannes fell in battle, the Ethiopian forces withdrew. Abd ar Rahman an Nujumi, the Khalifa's general, attempted an invasion of Egypt in 1889, but British-led Egyptian troops defeated the Ansar at Tushkah. The failure of the Egyptian invasion broke the spell of the Ansar's invincibility. The Belgians prevented the Mahdi's men from conquering Equatoria, and in 1893, the Italians repelled an Ansar attack at Akordat (in Eritrea) and forced the Ansar to withdraw from Ethiopia.

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1899–1956)[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Farouk I of Egypt & Sudan

In the 1890s, the British sought to re-establish their control over Sudan, once more officially in the name of the Egyptian Khedive, but in actuality treating the country as a British colony. By the early 1890s, British, French and Belgian claims had converged at the Nile headwaters. Britain feared that the other powers would take advantage of Sudan's instability to acquire territory previously annexed to Egypt. Apart from these political considerations, Britain wanted to establish control over the Nile to safeguard a planned irrigation dam at Aswan.

Lord Kitchener led military campaigns against the Mahdists from 1896 to 1898. Kitchener's campaigns culminated in a decisive victory in the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898. Following this, in 1899, Britain and Egypt reached an agreement under which Sudan was run by a governor-general appointed by Egypt with British consent. In reality, much to the revulsion of Egyptian and Sudanese nationalists^{[citation needed]}, Sudan was effectively administered as a British colony. The British were keen to reverse the process, started under Muhammad Ali Pasha, of uniting the Nile Valley under Egyptian leadership, and sought to frustrate all efforts aimed at further uniting the two countries. During World War II, Sudan was directly involved militarily in the East African Campaign. Formed in 1925, the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) played an active part in responding to the early incursions (occupation by Italian troops of Kassala and other border areas) into the Sudan from Italian East Africa during 1940. In 1942, the SDF also played a part in the invasion of the Italian colony by British and Commonwealth forces. From 1924 until independence in 1956, the British had a policy of running Sudan as two essentially separate territories, the north (Muslim) and south (Christian). The last British Governor-General was Sir Robert Howe.

Independence and National Rule (1956–1989)[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The continued British occupation of Sudan fueled an increasingly strident nationalist backlash in Egypt, with Egyptian nationalist leaders determined to force Britain to recognise a single independent union of Egypt and Sudan. With the formal end of Ottoman rule in 1914, Hussein Kamel was declared Sultan of Egypt and Sudan, as was his brother and successor Fuad I. They continued their insistence of a single Egyptian-Sudanese state even when the Sultanate was retitled as the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan, but the British continued to frustrate such reaches for independence.

The Egyptian Revolution of 1952 finally heralded the beginning of the march towards Sudanese independence. Having abolished the monarchy in 1953, Egypt's new leaders, Muhammad Naguib, whose mother was Sudanese, and later Gamal Abdel-Nasser, believed the only way to end British domination in Sudan was for Egypt to officially abandon its claims of sovereignty over Sudan.

The British on the other hand continued their political and financial support for the Mahdi successor Sayyid Abdel Rahman who, they believed, could resist the Egyptian pressures for Sudanese independence. Rahman was able to resist the pressures, but his regime was plagued with political ineptitude, which garnered him a loss of support in northern and central Sudan. Egypt and Britain both sensed a great political instability forming, and opted to allow the Sudanese in the north and south to have a free vote on independence to see whether they wished for a British withdrawal.

Sudan's flag raised at independence ceremony on 1 January 1956 by the Prime Minister Ismail al-Azhari and in presence of opposition leader Mohamed Ahmed Almahjoub

In 1954, the governments of Egypt and Britain signed a treaty guaranteeing Sudanese independence^{[citation needed]}. Afterwards, a polling process was carried out resulting in composition of a democratic parliament and Ismail al-Azhari was elected first Prime Minister and led the first modern Sudanese government.^[24] On 1 January 1956, in a special ceremony held at the People's Palace, the Egyptian and British flags were lowered and the new Sudanese flag, composed of green, blue and white stripes, was raised in their place by the prime minister Ismail al-Azhari.

Military Coup d'état (1989–present)[link]

On 30 June 1989, colonel Omar al-Bashir led a group of army officers in ousting the unstable coalition government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi in a bloodless military coup.^[16] Under al-Bashir's leadership, the new military government suspended political parties and introduced an Islamic legal code on the national level.^[25] He then became Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (a newly established body with legislative and executive powers for what was described as a transitional period), and assumed the posts of chief of state, prime minister, chief of the armed forces, and minister of defense.^[26] Subsequent to al-Bashir's promotion to the Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation, he allied himself with Hassan al-Turabi, the leader of the National Islamic Front (NIF), who along with al-Bashir began institutionalizing Sharia law in the northern part of Sudan. Further on, al-Bashir issued purges and executions in the upper ranks of the army, the banning of associations, political parties, and independent newspapers and the imprisonment of leading political figures and journalists.^[27]

On 16 October 1993, al-Bashir's powers increased when he appointed himself President of the country, after which he disbanded the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation and all other rival political parties. The executive and legislative powers of the council were later given to al-Bashir completely.^[28] In the 1996 national election, where he was the only candidate by law to run for election,^[20] al-Bashir transformed Sudan into a single-party state and created the National Congress Party (NCP) with a new parliament and government obtained solely by members of the NCP.^[29] During the 1990s, Hassan al-Turabi, then Speaker of the National Assembly, reached out to Islamic fundamentalist groups, as well as allowing them to operate out of Sudan, even personally inviting Osama bin Laden to the country.^[30] The United States subsequently listed Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism^[31] The U.S bombed Sudan in 1998 and U.S. firms were barred from doing business in Sudan. Further on, al-Turabi's influence and that of his party's "'internationalist' and ideological wing" waned "in favor of the 'nationalist' or more pragmatic leaders who focus on trying to recover from Sudan's disastrous international isolation and economic damage that resulted from ideological adventurism."^[32] At the same time Sudan worked to appease the United States and other international critics by expelling members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and encouraging bin Laden to leave.^[33] Prior to the 2000 presidential election, al-Turabi introduced a bill to reduce the President's powers, prompting al-Bashir to dissolve parliament and declare a state of emergency. After al-Turabi urged a boycott of the President's re-election campaign and signed an agreement with Sudan People's Liberation Army, Omar al-Bashir suspected they were plotting to overthrow him and the government,^[34] thus jailing Hassan al-Turabi that same year.^[35] Because of significant cultural, social, political, ethnic and economic changes in short amounts of time, conflicts were evolved in western and eastern provinces of Sudan in addition to an escalating conflict in Southern Sudan. Since the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), several violent struggles between the Janjaweed militia and rebel groups such as the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in the form of guerilla warfare in the Darfur, Red Sea and Equatoria regions have occurred. These conflicts have resulted in death tolls between 200,000^[36] and 400,000,^[19][37][38] over 2.5 million people being displaced^[39] and diplomatic relations between Sudan and Chad being put under very great strain.^[40]

The Sudanese government has supported the use of recruited Arab militias in guerrilla warfare, such as in the ongoing conflict in Darfur.^[36][41] Since then thousands of people have been displaced and killed, and the need for humanitarian care in Darfur has attracted worldwide attention. The conflict has since been described as a genocide,^[42] and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued two arrest warrants for al-Bashir, the current President of Sudan.^[43][44]

Sudan has also been the subject of severe sanctions due to alleged ties with Egyptian Islamic Jihad and al-Qaeda.^[30][31] Sudan has scored medium in human development in the last few years,^[45] ranking number 150 in 2009, between Haiti and Tanzania. Statistics indicate that about seventeen percent of the population live on less than US $1.25 per day.^[46] Among Sudan's population of 30 million people, Sunni Islam is the largest religion,^[47] while Arabic and English are the official languages.^[48]

Sudan has achieved great economic growth by implementing macroeconomic reforms. Rich in natural resources such as petroleum, Sudan's economy is amongst the fastest growing in the world.^[49] The People's Republic of China and Japan are the main export partners of Sudan.^[50]

Civil War and Secession of South Sudan[link]

In 1955, the year before independence, a civil war began between Northern and Southern Sudan. The southerners, anticipating independence, feared the new nation would be dominated by the north. Historically, the north of Sudan had closer ties with Egypt and was predominantly Arab or Arabized and Muslim while the south was predominantly non-Arabized and animist or Christian. These divisions had been further emphasized by the British policy of ruling the north and south under separate administrations. From 1924, it was illegal for people living north of the 10th parallel to go further south and for people south of the 8th parallel to go further north. The law was ostensibly enacted to prevent the spread of malaria and other tropical diseases that had ravaged British troops, as well as to facilitate spreading Christianity among the predominantly animist population while stopping the Arabic and Islamic influence from advancing south. The result was increased isolation between the already distinct north and south and arguably laid the seeds of conflict in the years to come.

The resulting conflict lasted from 1955 to 1972. The 1955 war began when Southern army officers mutinied and then formed the Anya-Nya guerilla movement. A few years later the first Sudanese military regime took power under Major-General Abboud. Military regimes continued into 1969 when General Gaafar Nimeiry led a successful coup.^[51]

In 1972, a cessation of the north-south conflict was agreed upon under the terms of the Addis Ababa Agreement, following talks which were sponsored by the World Council of Churches. This led to a ten-year hiatus in the national conflict with the south enjoying self-government through the formation of the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region.

In 1983, the civil war was reignited following President Gaafar Nimeiry's decision to circumvent the Addis Ababa Agreement^{[citation needed]}. Nimeiry attempted to create a federated Sudan including states in southern Sudan, which violated the Addis Ababa Agreement that had granted the south considerable autonomy. He appointed a committee to undertake "a substantial review of the Addis Ababa Agreement, especially in the areas of security arrangements, border trade, language, culture and religion".^[52] Mansour Khalid, a former foreign minister, wrote: “Nimeiri had never been genuinely committed to the principles of the Addis Ababa Agreement".^[53] When asked about revisions he stated "The Addis Ababa agreement is myself and Joseph Lagu and we want it that way... I am 300 percent the constitution. I do not know of any plebiscite because I am mandated by the people as the President".^[54] Southern troops rebelled against the northern political offensive, and launched attacks in June 1983.

In September 1983, the situation was exacerbated when Nimeiry's^{[clarification needed]} culminated the 1977 revisions by imposing new Islamic laws on all of Sudan, including the non-Muslim south.

In 1995, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter negotiated the longest ceasefire in the history of the war to allow humanitarian aid to enter Southern Sudan, which had been inaccessible owing to violence.^[55] This ceasefire, which lasted almost six months, has since been called the "Guinea Worm Ceasefire."^[55] Since 1983, a combination of civil war and famine has taken the lives of nearly 2 million people in Sudan.^[56] The war continued even after Nimeiry was ousted and a democratic government was elected with Al Sadiq Al Mahdi's Umma Party having the majority in the parliament. The leader of the SPLA John Garang refused to recognize the government and to negotiate with it as representative of Sudan but agreed to negotiate with government officials as representative of their political parties.^{[citation needed]} The Sudanese Army successfully advanced in the south, reaching the southern borders with neighbouring Kenya and Uganda. The campaign started in 1989 and ended in 1994. During the fight the situation worsened in the tribal south causing casualties among the Christian and animist minority.^[57] Rebel leader Riek Machar subsequently signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government and became Vice President of Sudan. His troops took part in the fight against the SPLA during the government offensive in the 1990s. After the Sudanese army took control of the entire south with the help of Machar, the situation improved. In time, however, the SPLA sought support in the West by using the northern Sudanese government's religious propaganda to portray the war as a campaign by the Arab Islamic government to impose Islam and the Arabic language on the animist and Christian south.

The war went on for more than twenty years, including the use of Russian-made combat helicopters and military cargo planes that were used as bombers to devastating effect on villages and tribal rebels alike. "Sudan's independent history has been dominated by chronic, exceptionally cruel warfare that has starkly divided the country on ethnic, religious, and regional grounds; displaced an estimated four million people (of a total estimated population of thirty-two million); and killed an estimated two million people."^[58] It damaged Sudan's economy and led to food shortages, resulting in starvation and malnutrition. The lack of investment during this time, particularly in the south, meant a generation lost access to basic health services, education and jobs.

Peace talks between the southern rebels and the government made substantial progress in 2003 and early 2004. The peace was consolidated with the official signing by both sides of the Nairobi Comprehensive Peace Agreement on 9 January 2005, granting Southern Sudan autonomy for six years, to be followed by a referendum about independence. It created a co-vice president position and allowed the north and south to split oil deposits equally, but also left both the north's and south's armies in place. John Garang, the south's peace agreement appointed co-vice president, died in a helicopter crash on 1 August 2005, three weeks after being sworn in. This resulted in riots, but peace was eventually restored. The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) was established under the UN Security Council Resolution 1590 of 24 March 2005. Its mandate is to support implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and to perform functions relating to humanitarian assistance, and protection and promotion of human rights. In October 2007 the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) withdrew from government in protest over slow implementation of a landmark 2005 peace deal which ended the civil war.

The referendum was negotiated under the auspices of Intergovernmental Organization Authority for Development IGAD, the regional organization of which Sudan is a member. Despite its role in finalizing the peace process, the debate around it increasingly became argumentative. According to a Wikileaks cable, the Khartoum Government along with the Egyptian government had been trying to delay or indefinitely adjourn the referendum. However, the southern leadership, the United Nations, and the whole region remained determined to hold vote as scheduled. As such, the vote continued. On 9 January 2011, the referendum was held worldwide; the South Sudanese diaspora who voted included those from the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Europe and East Africa. The result showed 98.9% in favour of secession.

The southern region became independent on 9 July 2011, with the name of South Sudan. Despite this result, many crucial issues are yet unresolved. The threats to people of South Sudan after referendum are numerous, with security topping the list. Other threats include disputes over the region of Abyei, control over oil fields, the borders, and the issue of citizenship.

As of April 23, 2012, Omar al-Bashir, President of Sudan, has declared he is unwilling to negotiate with officials in South Sudan. After South Sudan took control of the territorially contested Heglig for 10 days, Sudan forces pushed them out of the oil town, to the south. Even after South Sudan's withdrawal from Heglig, Sudanese MiG 29 fighter planes dropped three bombs in South Sudan. With Sudanese attacks as far as 10km into South Sudan, South Sudanese officials cited this as both a "violation of the territory" and "clear provocation."^[59] Hostility is inflating as both nations scramble to bulk up their military forces. President Bashir stated: "We will not negotiate with the South's government, because they don't understand anything but the language of the gun and ammunition...Our talks with them were with guns and bullets."^[60]

Abyei situation[link]

The issue of Abyei is a grave matter in terms of bringing lasting peace to the country. According to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the region of Abyei must hold its own referendum, and decide whether to go with the south, or remain with Sudan. As such, the CPA set forth two referenda in Sudan, the South Sudan referendum as to whether to split from Sudan and the Abyei referendum as to whether to join South Sudan in its secession. Nevertheless, the voting in Abyei didn’t happen as stipulated largely because of the dispute over who has the right to vote in the region. Until now the referendum on Abyei is yet to be rescheduled, and the tension is rising in the region. The Government of Sudan is calling for all the residents of Abyei to take part in the referendum while the SPLA/M wants to exclude non-Dinka residents. Recently, the standing Abyei Committee has formed a new committee called the Joint Technical Committee to look at the case again, as well as the case of Kadugli.

Many humanitarian aid and relief services, such as the World Food Program, World Vision, Oxfam, Cordaid and Care International, have a large^[ambiguous] presence in the area. Secession from Sudan will not necessarily solve the economic problems for Abyei. Further, the situation in Abyei is worsening in terms of security and dispute over land now that South Sudan has become independent.

Darfur conflict[link]

Map highlighting the Darfur region of Sudan

Just as the long north-south civil war was reaching a resolution, some clashes occurred in the Muslim western region of Darfur in the early 1970s between the pastoral tribes. The rebels accused the central government of neglecting the Darfur region economically. Both the government and the rebels have been accused of atrocities in this war, although most of the blame has fallen on Arabic speaking nomads militias known as the Janjaweed, which are armed men appointed by the Al Saddiq Al Mahdi administration to stop the longstanding chaotic disputes between Darfur tribes. According to declarations by the U.S. government, these militias have been engaging in genocide, the UN and African Union does not agree with the genocide label; the fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of them seeking refuge in neighbouring Chad. The government claimed victory over the rebels after capturing a town on the border with Chad in early 1994. However, the fighting resumed in 2003.

On 9 September 2004, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell termed the Darfur conflict a genocide, claiming it as the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century.^[61] There have been reports that the Janjaweed has been launching raids, bombings, and attacks on villages, killing civilians based on ethnicity, raping women, stealing land, goods, and herds of livestock. So far, over 2.5 million civilians have been displaced and the death toll is variously estimated from 200,000^[36] to 400,000 killed.^[41] These figures have remained stagnant since initial UN reports of the conflict hinted at genocide in 2003/2004. Genocide has been considered a criminal offense under international humanitarian law since the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.^[62]

On 5 May 2006, the Sudanese government and Darfur's largest rebel group, the SLM (Sudanese Liberation Movement), signed the Darfur Peace Agreement, which aimed at ending the three-year-long conflict.^[63] The agreement specified the disarmament of the Janjaweed and the disbandment of the rebel forces, and aimed at establishing a temporal government in which the rebels could take part.^[64] The agreement, which was brokered by the African Union, however, was not signed by all of the rebel groups.^[64] Only one rebel group, the SLA, led by Minni Arko Minnawi, signed the agreement.^[65]

Since the agreement was signed, however, there have been reports of widespread violence throughout the region. A new rebel group has emerged called the National Redemption Front, which is made up of the four main rebel groups that refused to sign the May peace agreement.^[66] Recently,^[when?] both the Sudanese government and government-sponsored militias have launched large offensives against the rebel groups, resulting in more deaths and more displacements. Clashes among the rebel groups have also contributed to the violence.^[66] Recent^[when?] fighting along the Chad border has left hundreds of soldiers and rebel forces dead and nearly a quarter of a million refugees cut off from aid.^[67] In addition, villages have been bombed and more civilians have been killed. UNICEF recently^[when?] reported that around eighty infants die each day in Darfur as a result of malnutrition. The hunger in the Darfur region is still concerning many developed countries in the world.

The people in Darfur are predominantly non-Arabized members of the Darfur tribe who adhere to Islam. While the Janjaweed/Baggara militia is made up of Arabized indigenous Africans and few Arab Bedouin; the majority of other Arab groups in Darfur remain uninvolved in the conflict.^[68]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has indicted State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Haroun and alleged Muslim Janjaweed militia leader Ali Mohammed Ali, also known as Ali Kosheib, in relation to the atrocities in the region. Ahmed Haroun belongs to the Bargou tribe, one of the non-Arab tribes of Darfur, and is alleged to have incited attacks on specific non-Arab ethnic groups. Ali Kosheib is a former soldier and a leader of the popular defense forces, and is alleged to be one of the key leaders responsible for attacks on villages in west Darfur.

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor on Darfur, Luis Moreno Ocampo, announced on 14 July 2008, ten criminal charges against Bashir, accusing him of sponsoring war crimes and crimes against humanity.^[69] The ICC's prosecutors have claimed that al-Bashir "masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part" three tribal groups in Darfur because of their ethnicity The Arab League, African Union, and France support Sudan's efforts to suspend the ICC investigation.^[70] They are willing to consider Article 16 of the ICC's Rome Statute, which states ICC investigations can be suspended for one year if the investigation endangers the peace process.

Chad-Sudan conflict[link]

The Chad-Sudan Conflict (2005–2007) officially started on 23 December 2005, when the government of Chad declared a state of war with Sudan and called for the citizens of Chad to mobilize themselves against the "common enemy"^[71]—the United Front for Democratic Change, a coalition of rebel factions dedicated to overthrowing Chadian President Idriss Déby (and who the Chadians believe are backed by the Sudanese government), and Sudanese janjawid, who have been raiding refugee camps and certain tribes in eastern Chad. Déby accuses Sudanese President Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir of trying to "destabilize our country, to drive our people into misery, to create disorder and export the war from Darfur to Chad."

The problem prompting the declaration of war was an attack on the Chadian town of Adré near the Sudanese border that led to the deaths of either one hundred rebels (as most news sources reported) or three hundred rebels. The Sudanese government was blamed for the attack, which was the second in the region in three days,^[72] but Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman Jamal Mohammed Ibrahim denied any Sudanese involvement, "We are not for any escalation with Chad. We technically deny involvement in Chadian internal affairs." The Battle of Adré led to the declaration of war by Chad and the alleged deployment of the Chadian air force into Sudanese airspace, which the Chadian government denies.^[73]

The leaders of Sudan and Chad signed an agreement in Saudi Arabia on 3 May 2007 to stop fighting from the Darfur conflict along their countries' 1,000-kilometre (600 mi) border.^[74]

Eastern Front[link]

Beja nomads

Rashaida in the east

The Eastern Front, whose chairman is the current presidential adviser Mr. Musa Mohamed Ahmed, was a coalition of rebel groups operating in eastern Sudan along the border with Eritrea, particularly the states of Red Sea and Kassala. While the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) was the primary member of the Eastern Front, the SPLA was obliged to leave by the January 2005 agreement that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. Their place was taken in February 2004 after the merger of the larger Hausa and Beja Congress with the smaller Rashaida Free Lions, two tribal-based groups of the Arabized Beja and the Arab Rashaida people, respectively.^[75]

Both the Free Lions and the Beja Congress stated that government inequity in the distribution of oil profits, and for the Beja the often uncompromising Arabization campaign of the central government, was the cause of their rebellion. They demanded to have a greater say in the composition of the national government, which has been seen as a destabilizing influence on the agreement ending the conflict in Southern Sudan.^{[citation needed]}

The Eritrean government in mid-2006 dramatically changed its position on the conflict. From being the main supporter of the Eastern Front, it decided that bringing the Sudanese government around the negotiating table for a possible agreement with the rebels would be in its best interests.^{[citation needed]}

It was successful in its attempts and on 19 June 2006, the two sides signed an agreement on declaration of principles.^[76] This was the start of four months of Eritrean-mediated negotiations for a comprehensive peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Eastern Front, which culminated in signing of a peace agreement on 14 October 2006, in Asmara. The agreement covers security issues, power sharing at a federal and regional level, and wealth sharing in regards to the three Eastern states Kassala, Red Sea and Al Qadarif.^{[citation needed]} One of the agreements made between the Khartoum government and the Eastern Front was that Khartoum would push for international arbitration to solve the situation in the disputed Hala'ib Triangle which has been under Egyptian military annexation since 1995.

In July 2007, many areas of the country were devastated by flooding, prompting an immediate humanitarian response by the United Nations and partners, under the leadership of acting United Nations Resident Coordinators David Gressly and Oluseyi Bajulaiye.^[77] Over 400,000 people were directly affected, with over 3.5 million at risk of epidemics.^[78] The United Nations allocated US$ 13.5 million for the response from its pooled funds, and launched an appeal to the international community to cover the gap.^[79] The humanitarian crisis is in danger of worsening. Following attacks in Darfur, the U.N. World Food Programme announced it could stop food aid to some parts of Darfur.^[80] Banditry against truck convoys is one of the biggest problems, as it impedes the delivery of food assistance to war-stricken areas and forces a cut in monthly rations.

Government and politics[link]

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir (January 2009)

Officially, the politics of Sudan takes place in the framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, where the President of Sudan is head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief of the Sudan People's Armed Forces in a multi-party system. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the bicameral parliament — the National Legislature, with its National Assembly (lower chamber) and the Council of States (upper chamber). The judiciary is independent and obtained by the Constitutional Court.^[19]

However, following the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) and the now-low-scale war in Darfur, Sudan is widely recognized as an authoritarian state where all effective political power is obtained by President Omar al-Bashir and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP). The political system of the Republic of Sudan was restructured following a military coup on 30 June 1989, when al-Bashir, then a colonel in the Sudanese Army, led a group of officers and ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. Under al-Bashir's leadership, the new military government suspended political parties and introduced an Islamic legal code on the national level.^[25]

He then became Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (a newly established body with legislative and executive powers for what was described as a transitional period), and assumed the posts of chief of state, prime minister, chief of the armed forces and minister of defense.^[26] Further on, after institutionalizing Sharia law in the northern part of the country along with Hassan al-Turabi, al-Bashir issued purges and executions in the upper ranks of the army, the banning of associations, political parties, and independent newspapers and the imprisonment of leading political figures and journalists.^[27]

In 1993, Sudan was transformed into an Islamic authoritarian single-party state as al-Bashir abolished the Revolutionary Command Council and created the National Islamic Front (NIF) with a new parliament and government obtained solely by members of the NIF. At the same time, the structure of regional administration was replaced by the creation of twenty-six states, each headed by a governor, thus making Sudan a federal republic. As a result, the Second Sudanese Civil War with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) would only escalate in the following years.^[34][35]

Following the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the government of al-Bashir and the SPLA, a government of national unity was installed in Sudan in accordance with the Interim Constitution whereby a co-Sudan Vice President position representing the south was created in addition to the northern Sudanese Vice President. This allowed the north and south to split oil deposits equally,^[81] but also left both the north's and south's armies in place. Following the Darfur Peace Agreement in 2006, the office of senior presidential advisor was allocated to Minni Minnawi, a Zaghawa of the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA), and, thus, became the fourth-highest constitutional post.

Executive posts are divided between the NCP, the SPLA, the Sudanese Eastern Front and factions of the Umma Party and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). This peace agreement with the rebel group SPLA granted Southern Sudan autonomy for six years, to be followed by a referendum about independence in 2011.

According to the new 2005 constitution, the bicameral National Legislature is the official Sudanese parliament and is divided between two chambers — the National Assembly, a lower house with 450 seats, and the Council of States, an upper house with 50 seats. Thus the parliament consists of 500 appointed members altogether, where all are indirectly elected by state legislatures to serve six-year terms.^[19]

Despite his international arrest warrant, al-Bashir was a candidate in the 2010 Sudanese presidential election, the first democratic election with multiple political parties participating in twenty-four years.^[82] In the build-up to the vote, Sudanese pro-democracy activists say they faced intimidation by the government^[83] and the International Crisis Group reported that the ruling party had gerrymandered electoral districts.^[84] A few days before the vote, the main opposition candidate, Yasir Arman from the SPLM, withdrew from the race.^[85] The U.S.-based Carter Center, which helped monitor the elections, described the vote tabulation process as "highly chaotic, non-transparent and vulnerable to electoral manipulation."^[86] Al-Bashir was declared the winner of the election with sixty-eight percent of the vote.^[82] There was considerable concern amongst the international community of a return to violence in the run-up to the January 2011 southern Sudan referendum, with post-referendum issues such as oil-revenue sharing and border demarcation not yet resolved.^[87]

Foreign relations[link]