Sudan summons U.S. envoy for Washington's statement on Darfur referendum

The Sudanese foreign ministry on Tuesday summoned the U.S. envoy in the country over Washington's doubts about the credibility of an ongoing referendum on Darfur's administrative status, official SUNA news agency reported.

In a strong statement of condemnation, Sudan's foreign ministry Under-secretary Abdul-Ghani Al-Naeem told the U.S. diplomat that Washington's words contradict the ongoing peace efforts, the report said.

"The U.S. statement sends a wrong message in a wrong time, and comes as a completion to a series of false American promises," Al-Naeem was quoted as saying.

"Referendum is a civilized mechanism for peoples to choose from among multiple options and a good substitute for the gun as a means to achieve objectives and goals," he noted.

Earlier, the U.S. Department of State expressed serious concerns about the timing of the referendum.

The department's deputy spokesperson, Mark Toner, said in a statement that the referendum could not be credible in the current security and political situation in the region.

''If held under current rules and conditions, a referendum on the status of Darfur cannot be considered a credible expression of the will of the people of Darfur," he noted.

Voting started on 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 make their choice at 1,420 polling stations in 65 localities, in accordance with the DDPD, signed in 2011.

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 the referendum, demanding that the Khartoum fulfils 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