South Sudanese are due to vote on Jan. 9 on whether they want independence or wish to remain part of a united Sudan.
Simultaneously, residents in the contested oil-rich region of Abyei are due to vote on whether they want to be part of north or south Sudan, but the two sides said negotiations in Addis Ababa on the region’s future have broken down.
“Despite our commitment to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, we will not accept an alternative to unity,” Bashir told Parliament in a speech, without specifying his reaction in case of a “yes” vote in the south’s referendum. The CPA, signed in 2005, ended a two-decade civil war between north and south, during which two million people were killed.
The peace deal gave the former southern rebels, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), semiautonomous powers and a share in the Khartoum government, and promised a referendum on southern independence.
“Unity is the probable outcome for the south if it is given freedom of choice in a fair, free election. Sound logic leads the south to unity,” the president said.
Bashir pledged a fair referendum but added that demarcation of disputed border points with the south was a “decisive factor in conducting a fair and free election.”
Delegations from the north’s National Congress Party and the south’s SPLM failed to reach an agreement after nine days of talks in the Ethiopian capital. “Despite serious efforts and many productive discussions, they did not succeed in reaching an agreement on the eligibility criteria for voters in the Abyei area referendum,” the two sides said in a joint statement.
The latest round of talks between north and south Sudan on the future of Abyei has failed to reach agreement, the parties said on Tuesday.
"Despite serious efforts and many productive discussions, (the delegations) did not succeed in reaching agreement on the eligibility criteria for voters in the Abyei Area referendum," the north's National Congress Party (NCP) and the south's Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) said in a joint statement.
"They will meet again in Ethiopia toward the end of October to continue their discussions. The parties continue to commit themselves to their mutual goal of avoiding a return to conflict," the statement said.
The head of the southern delegation, however, warned Sudan could return to war without agreement, calling the nine days of talks a failure, a position rejected by his nothern counterpart.
"This round has failed," said Pagan Amum, secretary-general of the SPLM. "We are left with 90 days. Time is very critical.
"If the parties fail to sort out these issues this could lead to an end of the peace process itself. And the peace may unravel in Sudan," he told reporters in the Ethiopian capital, where the talks were held.
Demarcation of Abyei’s border and the participation of the nomadic Misseriya Arab tribe in the referendum have caused disagreements between the two sides.
Abyei’s referendum law gives voting rights to members of the southern Dinka Ngok tribe, leaving it up to a referendum commission to decide which “other Sudanese” are considered residents of the region and can also vote.
The law has angered the Misseriya — a tribe that migrates each year to the Abyei region looking for pastures for their cattle — who have threatened to carry out acts of violence in the region if they are not allowed to vote. The two sides agreed to resume negotiations at the end of October.
South Sudan’s army said on Tuesday that the security situation in Abyei is “deteriorating.”
The Sudan People’s Liberation Army accused northern troops of firing shots in an Abyei market on Thursday in a sign of “provocation.”
“According to our sources, the (Sudanese army’s) intention is to invade and occupy the Abyei area and parts of Unity State,” an SPLA statement said.
Sudan’s military last week accused the southern army of crossing a disputed border, warning that the “violation” could derail the referendum.
