South Sudan wants more time to register voters
South Sudan's leading political party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, has asked for more time for voters to register for the country's first multi-party elections in 24 years. The April 2010 elections were agreed upon as part of Sudan's 2005 north-south peace deal, ending a 21-year civil war that killed up to two million people. Subsequently, Sudan's multiple political parties have accused each other of vote-buying and anomalies in voter registration. Getting people to vote is vital to the less-populated and oil-rich south, as the peace deal includes a referendum on the south’s possible secession in 2011. Even though the north’s ruling National Congress Party has accepted a simple majority vote of 51% to declare the south an independent country, Khartoum insists the turnout in the referendum must be 66%. Read more: Reuters, AllAfrica.com
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