Independence vote underway in Southern Sudan

Southern Sudan’s leader Salva Kiir has cast the first vote in a referendum expected to create the world’s newest country.

Supporters described the breakaway vote as a ‘Last March to Freedom.’

“This is the historic moment that south Sudanese have been waiting for,” Kiir said as he cast his ballot in the southern capital of Juba.

A vote in favour of a north-south split is seen as a foregone conclusion but the disputed central Abyei region is just one issue that needs to be resolved.

The week-long independence referendum was promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended a two-decade long civil war.

People lined up for hours outside polling stations to take part.

“I did not sleep in the night. I came at 3 o’clock and I found others were here since 12 o’clock,” said voter Emmanuel Keri. “Yes, I have come here to vote, to get the separation. I am like a slave but I will never come back to being a slave again when I vote today.”

“Today I am feeling excited and today is a great day for the southern Sudanese and we are going for separation,” said a fellow voter, who gave his name as Lam. “This is a new nation….. We are South Sudan, independent.”

While the north is mainly Muslim, most people in the oil-rich south follow Christianity and traditional beliefs. It is not yet clear how Sudan’s oil reserves will be shared.

Copyright © 2012 euronews