Associated Press
Southern Sudanese line up to vote at dawn in the southern capital of Juba Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011. This morning marks the first opportunity for southerners to cast ballots in an independence referendum, the outcome of which will determine if the south secedes from the north to form an independent country. (AP)
Associated Press
Pro-separation activists hold signs and chant pro-independence slogans outside the Juba airport in southern Sudan where Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir arrived on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011. President Bashir and his government in Khartoum support the ongoing unity of Sudan, a position fiercely contested by southern separatists. During his visit to the southern capital, President Bashir reiterated his desire for unity while expressing his willingness to recognize the right of southerners to secede if they so choose. Southerners will commence voting in an independence referendum on January 9, the outcome of which will determine whether the south secedes to form the world's newest country. (AP)
Associated Press
Southern Sudanese soldiers guard the tomb of the late southern leader Dr. John Garang in the southern capital of Juba on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011. The grounds of Garang's grave served as a polling station on the opening day of independence referendum voting. This morning marks the first opportunity for southerners to cast ballots in an independence referendum, the outcome of which will determine if the south secedes from the north to form an independent country. (AP)
Associated Press
A Southern Sudanese votes in a polling station in the suburb of Haj Yousef on the outskirts of the capital Khartoum, Sudan Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011. This morning marks the first opportunity for southerners to cast ballots in an independence referendum, the outcome of which will determine if the south secedes from the north to form an independent country. (AP)
Associated Press
A Southern Sudanese woman votes in a polling station in the suburb of Haj Yousef on the outskirts of the capital Khartoum, Sudan Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011. This morning marks the first opportunity for southerners to cast ballots in an independence referendum, the outcome of which will determine if the south secedes from the north to form an independent country. (AP)
Associated Press
Southern Sudanese returning from Khartoum arrive at the main port in the southern capital of Juba Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011. Tens of thousands of southern Sudanese have returned from the north in recent months. Come express fear that their safety cannot be insured if south Sudan opts to secede through a referendum. (AP)
Associated Press
Southern Sudanese who recently returned from northern Sudan receive food rations from the World Food Program in the southern capital of Juba on Friday, Jan. 7, 2010. The distribution comes just two days before southern Sudanese begin voting in an independence referendum that will determine whether they secede from the north. (AP)
Associated Press
A pro independence leaflet is set on a motorcycle near the John Garang mausoleum where a polling station is being set up in Juba, Southern Sudan, Saturday Jan. 8, 2011. Southern Sudan begins voting in a weeklong independence referendum Sunday that is likely to see Africa's largest country split in two. In order for the referendum to pass, a simple majority must vote for independence and 60 percent of the 3.9 million registered voters must cast ballots.(AP)
Associated Press
South Sudanese newly trained police recruited for referendum security ride on a truck, near the John Garang mausoleum where a polling station is being set up in Juba, Southern Sudan, Saturday Jan. 8, 2011. Southern Sudan begins voting in a weeklong independence referendum Sunday that is likely to see Africa's largest country split in two. In order for the referendum to pass, a simple majority must vote for independence and 60 percent of the 3.9 million registered voters must cast ballots. (AP)
Associated Press
A Sudanese man rides near the John Garang mausoleum where a polling station is being set up in Juba, Southern Sudan, Saturday Jan. 8, 2011. Southern Sudan begins voting in a weeklong independence referendum Sunday that is likely to see Africa's largest country split in two. In order for the referendum to pass, a simple majority must vote for independence and 60 percent of the 3.9 million registered voters must cast ballots.(AP)
Associated Press
Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir addresses reporters following his meeting with U.S. Sen. John Kerry in Juba, Southern Sudan, Saturday Jan. 8, 2011. Southern Sudan begins voting in a weeklong independence referendum Sunday that is likely to see Africa's largest country split in two. In order for the referendum to pass, a simple majority must vote for independence and 60 percent of the 3.9 million registered voters must cast ballots. (AP)
Associated Press
A South Sudanese soldier sweeps the entrance of the John Garang mausoleum where a polling station is being set up in Juba, Southern Sudan, Saturday Jan. 8, 2011. Southern Sudan begins voting in a weeklong independence referendum Sunday that is likely to see Africa's largest country split in two. In order for the referendum to pass, a simple majority must vote for independence and 60 percent of the 3.9 million registered voters must cast ballots.(AP)
JUBA, Sudan— Women broke out in song and men wrapped themselves in flags as voters in Southern Sudan began casting ballots Sunday in a weeklong independence referendum likely to create the world's newest nation about five years after the end of a brutal civil war.
The oil-rich, mainly Christian south is widely expected to secede from the mainly Muslim north, splitting Africa's largest country in two. The north has promised to let the south go peacefully.
RELATED:As vote looms, S. Sudan and renegade general reconcileGetting ready for Africa’s newest country?"This is the historic moment the people of Southern Sudan have been waiting for," said Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir as he cast his vote in front of a cheering crowd of hundreds lined up in front of the polling station. Sudan activist George Clooney and US Sen. John Kerry were on hand to watch Kiir vote.
Kiir, wearing his trademark black cowboy hat, appeared visibly emotional
as he remembered the 2 million people killed in 1983-2005 civil war. He
also honored rebel leader John Garang, who died in a plane crash
shortly after the peace deal was signed.
"I am sure that they didn't die in vain," he told the crowd. Women broke
out in singing and chants and one man waved a sign saying: "A road
toward sovereignty. A new nation to be born on the African continent!!!"
Many voters lined up in the middle of the night, and some slept at the
site of Garang's grave, where Kiir voted. Among the voters was Mawien
Mabut, a 36-year-old soldier who was grinning widely as he lined up to
cast his ballot.
"I have seen the inside of war so we have to stop the war now. We are very happy the Arabs are going away," he said.
Standing near him was Rachel Akech, 30. The tall, pregnant woman has
traditional scars on her face and her lower teeth removed, a tradition
in the Dinka tribe.
"I couldn't even sleep I've been thinking about this day for so long," she said. "I am ready to vote."
This week's referendum is part of a 2005 peace deal that ended the
two-decade civil war between the north and south. Voters can mark one of
two choices — a single hand for independence or two clasped hands for
unity. The illustrations are necessary because only 15 percent of the
region's 8.7 million people can read.
Southerners, who mainly define themselves as African, have long resented
their underdevelopment, accusing the northern Arab-dominated government
of taking their oil revenues without investing in the south. Southern
Sudan is among the world's poorest regions, and the U.N. says a
15-year-old girl has a higher chance of dying in childbirth than
finishing school.
Sudan will lose a third of its land, nearly a quarter of its population
and much of its main money-maker — oil. In recent weeks the president of
Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, has sought to play down fears of potential
violence, saying the north will accept a vote for secession.
About 117,000 southerners who live in the north also registered to vote,
but the scene at one polling station in Sudan's capital of Khartoum was
far removed from the joyous scenes in the south. Many southerners fear
retribution from northerners if they vote.
The north and south still need to negotiate the distribution of oil
revenues, rights to the White Nile, official borders and citizenship
rights. Full independence wouldn't take place before July 9, when the
2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, or CPA, expires and a new agreement
must take its place.
Clashes could still flare along border hotspots and in the disputed
border region of Abyei. That region had also been scheduled to hold a
freedom referendum on Sunday but its status is disputed by the two
sides. It is likely to be subject to continued negotiations between the
north and south, brokered alternately by the African Union and the
United States.