The Government of Southern Sudan denied charges of preventing southerners in the north and abroad from participating in the on-going registration process to vote in the referendum on self-determination.
Mandoor Al-Mahdi, a senior National Congress Party official, accused the SPLM of intimidating Southerners to register in the North and neighbouring countries.GoSS Minister for Information and Broadcasting Barnaba Marial Benjamin told SCR News that the government cannot deny southern Sudanese their right to register and participate in the referendum.
Mr. Marial said that all who register must be sure of voting in order not to compromise the sixty percent of voters’ participation to validate the referendum.
Mr. Marial said that there are few voices within the NCP who are threatening not to recognize the referendum results.
He added that the position of President Omar al Bashir is to respect the choice of Southerners as long as the referendum is free and fair.
Mr. Marial underlined that there were also international observers to determine the fairness of the referendum.