Sudan's Darfur to maintain multi-state administrative status

About 98 per cent of voters in Sudan’s Darfur region have decided to keep the current multi-state system, according to the referendum commission.

#Sudan’s #Darfur votes to retain multi-state systemhttps://t.co/RVtzJDnqwV pic.twitter.com/3w16c8HryH

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The war-torn region took to the polls between April 11 and 13 as part of a peace process to end the over a decade-long conflict.

Darfur voted in favour of keeping the region’s five-state status and not unite into a single autonomous region.

“The percentage of valid votes for the current system of states was 97.72 percent, with 3,081,976 votes in total. The total valid votes for the one region option was 71,920, at the rate of 2.28 percent. We announce that the referendum has chosen the current states option,” said, Omer Ali Jamma, president, Darfur Referendum Commission.

According to the electoral commission 3.21 million people were eligible to take to the polls but the vote was boycotted by major rebel and opposition groups.

The referendum faced international criticism despite Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir stating that the polls would be free and fair.

Before 1994, Darfur was a single region until the government split it into three states. 18 years later, the government further split the region stating it will make governance more efficient.

In 2003, fighting broke out between government forces and armed rebels. The conflict claimed 300,000 lives and displaced over 2.5 million people.