Sudan Humanitarian Update 4th Quarter 2010

REFERENDUM

In the last quarter of 2010, the focus in Sudan was primarily on preparations for the historic referendum on the status of southern Sudan, with voting scheduled to take place from 9 to 15 January 2011.

While every effort is being made to ensure that the referendum takes places peacefully and that the outcome is respected, it is widely acknowledged that the referendum could contribute to inter-communal tensions in Sudan, with potentially serious consequences for the humanitarian situation. As a result, humanitarian partners have dedicated significant efforts to contingency planning (see "Emergency Preparedness" below).

On the whole, referendum preparations proceeded smoothly in the fourth quarter. Voter registration was conducted without major incident, running from 15 November to 8 December. Several concerns persisted regarding the referendum, however, particularly over logistics, funding, and security, as well as the need to ensure adequate voter education. Despite these issues, most observers were predicting that a credible vote would take place in southern Sudan on time. In total, just over 3.9 million voters were registered.