Balloting starts in Sudan's Darfur referendum over region's future

Balloting started Monday in Sudan's Darfur in a referendum on whether to keep its current system of five states, or to render Darfur into a single region.

A total of 3,532,226 registered voters will have three days to cast their ballots at 1,420 polling stations in 65 localities, in accordance with the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), signed in 2011.

"The voters began casting their votes in all parts of Darfur at 8:30 Sudan local time (5:30 GMT)," Rapporteur of Darfur Referendum Commission Adam Dalil told Xinhua.

The referendum is conducted in accordance with the DDPD, signed between the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in 2011, provided that its result is to be included in the country's permanent constitution.

Major rebel movements in Darfur reject participating in the referendum, demanding that the central government fulfill their demands of reaching a political solution with the armed groups and financially compensating citizens affected by the conflict.

The Sudanese government, however, stressed that the referendum must go ahead according to the peace deal.

According to the agreement, if Darfur citizens vote for one state, then the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority (TDRA) will form a constitutional committee to determine the authority of Darfur's regional governments.

However, if Darfur citizens vote for the current five states, then, according to the agreement, the current status of the five states will remain as they are, and the TDRA will be dissolved. Endit