Early results from the weeklong vote suggest an overwhelming
vote to split away from the mostly Muslim north after decades of civil war.
"The European Union election observation mission assess
the voting process of the Southern Sudan Referendum credible and well-organized
in a mostly peaceful environment," a preliminary statement seen by Reuters
said.
Former US President Jimmy Carter's mission similarly
approved the referendum, which hopes to end a violent cycle of bitter
north-south conflict in Africa's largest country.
"The (Carter) Center finds that the referendum process
to date is broadly consistent with international standards for democratic
elections and represents the genuine expression of the will of the
electorate," its statement read.
Organizers have reported turnouts of over 90 percent of
voters in many parts of the oil-producing south. In the capital Juba, six centers
had more than 2,500 votes for secession compared to a maximum of just 25 votes
for unity.
"Based on early reports from vote counting centers, it
appears virtually certain that the results will be in favor of
separation," the Carter Center added.
Preliminary results are expected by the end of the month and
south Sudan would become an independent nation on July 9, according to the
terms of the 2005 north-south peace deal that promised the referendum.
Observers had raised concerns before the vote that there was
a lack of informed discussion in the north about secession and in the south
about unity.
"We were concerned that there wasn't a conducive
environment for campaigning for unity in the south, similarly for secession in
the north," the Carter Center's Sudan director Sanne van der Bergh told
Reuters.
"We had hoped that both governments would have created
a more conducive environment," she said.
Illustrating the strength of public emotion in favor of
secession in the south, some voters expressed anger that even one person would
vote for unity.
"I'm annoyed - why are they voting for unity? I thought
that we didn't have such people in the south - they are not southern
Sudanese," student Victor Ajuot, 25, said in Juba.
Senior north Sudanese official Ibrahim Ghandour told Reuters
last week the voting, which ended on Saturday, had been "broadly fair,”
allaying fears that disagreements over the outcome would reignite conflict.
