Nairobi: Southern Sudan Decision

                           Southern Sudan Referendum Commision counting votes

After a week long of casting the ballots, Southern Sudanese are now waiting for the results with bated breath.
Not only those back in the oil rich country that suffered a 21 year long civil war but also those that went to seek refuge in other countries. Southern Sudanese in countries like Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Egypt, United Kingdom, Canada, United States and Australia had a chance to cast their votes and decide their fate along with their sisters and brothers in Sudan.
The relevant governments and citizens to these countries deserve gratitude for their unending assistance in this undertaking that might see the South secede from the North. All the hard work and commitment by many regional and international organizations and other stakeholders including the IOM that greatly assisted the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission for organizing the registration and voting outside Sudan and making their dream of voting become a reality.
Kenya in particular has for all the years been a good neignbour to Sudan and a hospitable host to Sudanese refugees for all this while and even played a major role in the signing of the peace agreement in 2005 that ended a two decades civil war.ThereforeSudanese in Kenya got an opportunity to cast their ballot with over 14,800 Sudanese participating in this historic event that might see the birth of the 194 the state in the world after the referendum.
99% of the voters in Kenyan voting centres voted for secession with only 0.28% voting for unity. The preliminary results for the entire referendum will be declared by the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission and anyone wishing to appeal the results must wait until the overall preliminary results of the entire referendum is declared by the commission in Khartoum in February.

Kelvin Mwangi
Nairobi