Winds of Change - The Ballot Process
Given the stakes, a large international and domestic effort has gone into the process of making the Sudanese referendum as legitimate as possible under the circumstances. A clear-cut timeline was laid out to reach this point.
- November 15, 2010 - Beginning of registration
- December 8, 2010 - Last day of registration
- December 17, 2010 - Last date for submitting objections
- December 29, 2010 - Final date for appeal to the courts
- January 8, 2011 - Publication of the final register of qualified voters
- January 9, 2011 - Start of referendum voting
- January 15, 2011 - Last day of voting
- February 14, 2011 - Announcement of results from Khartoum, north Sudan
It was heartening to hear Jimmy Carter, who has been in south Sudan for the process, say that the procedures were above-board and that the process itself will likely be seen as legitimate. To also hear of a high-profile northern Sudanese official admit that the referendum went about as well as could be expected was also a positive sign.The vote itself is being administered by the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC), and independent body, in cooperation with both northern and southern Sudan. International observers helped to move the process along and we were honoured to be enlisted. What is striking is that so many felt the voting process itself just wouldn't work, when, in fact, it became a remarkable exercise in legitimacy - something the north of Sudanese is now acknowledging.The video below goes through how the ballot was used and traces the life of one person - William Ater - who has helped our organization and we have been sending to Uganda for university training for the past 18 months. He is destined to become one of the south's key leaders. A former child soldier, he has become respected by his own people for his integrity. We follow him as he votes and query him on how the voting actually takes place.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdfeKXPZUA8&fs=1&hl=en_US]