The Southern Sudan Referendum Commission defined who is allowed to take part in the vote for self-determination slated for January 9, 2010.
A document from the Commission’s legal department says that there are three groups of citizens who can vote in the referendum:Voters who belong to one of the indigenous groups of South Sudan until January, 1, 1956; voters who can trace their ancestry to one of the indigenous groups of South Sudan; and voters who do not belong to the indigenous groups of South Sudan but their ancestors are living in South Sudan since January 1, 1956.
The Legal department said also that the first group can vote in South Sudan, in North Sudan and in the eight countries abroad, while descendants of Southern Sudanese and those who were born from non Southerners living in the South can vote only in Southern Sudan.