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Voting on Darfur referendum begins on April 11: report

Xinhua, January 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

Darfur's Administrative Referendum Commission announced that the referendum would take place on April 11, in order to determine the region's administrative status, reported Sudan's Ashorooq net.

"Voting will begin on April 11 and last till the 13th of April," head of the commission, Omer Ali Jamaa, was quoted as saying.

He elucidated that there are 1,400 referendum centers, distributed across the 63 localities in Darfur's five states.

He explained that the referendum will determine the region's administrative status and provide developmental services in the coming period.

The Sudanese government stressed that the referendum is a constitutional right which must be implemented according to the Abuja peace deal Khartoum signed with the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)/ Minni Minnawi faction in 2006.

However, major Darfur rebel movements reject the referendum before Khartoum reaches a political agreement with the region's armed groups and financially compensates individuals affected by the conflict there.

The referendum will determine whether to merge Darfur's states into one, or to keep the region's current administrative status comprising of five states.

According to the Abuja peace deal, if Darfur votes for the merging of the states, the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority (TDRA) will establish a constitutional committee to define Darfur's regional governmental powers.

However, if Darfur votes against the one-region option, the current administrative status of the five states will remain as they are, and the TDRA will be dissolved, as the agreement stipulates. Endit