Sudan: controversial census prepares way for north-south split
Apr 29 2008
Postings >> Sudan

Sudan is holding a national census to help determine how power and wealth is divided between north and south ahead of next year's elections.

The census was a key component of the 2005 peace accord, bringing to an end a bitter civil war which pitted the Arab and Muslim north against the mainly Christian or animist south.

But the census has been hugely controversial. Southern politicians have already said its results should not be used to make key decisions such as the demarcation of the north-south border. Many southerners, forced to flee violence during the civil war, have not yet managed to return home – which, they fear, may skew the results, says the BBC.

The Sudan Tribune reports that census forms for the south were not even in the right language 'in most cases'. In Greater Equatoria, for example, most people speak English –  but census forms were in Arabic. In Darfur to the west, civilians and rebel groups are refusing to take part, claiming that, without peace, a census is meaningless.

• Pray that politicians and civilians will unite in a commitment to build the peace.
• Pray that vexed questions like border demarcation and dividing up Sudan's oil revenues can be resolved, to consolidate the peace.