The government should restrain from endorsing unofficial referendum result

The leaders of the disputed Abyei Administrative Area are planning to cajole the transitional unity government in Juba, to endorse the unofficial referendum results of October 2013.

The leaders of the disputed Abyei Administrative Area are planning to cajole the transitional unity government in Juba, to endorse the unofficial referendum results of October 2013.

The African Union (AU) which is the only mandated institution to organize and oversee such a referendum has until now refused to endorse the vote, because it was done without it’s endorsement.

The Abyei area is disputed between Sudan and South Sudan, meaning any decision to conduct a vote stems from the consent of the two governments. The time the unrecognized referendum was held, the then Sudanese leader Omar Al-Bashir protested and rejected the referendum and Juba also quietly refrained from irking the AU and it’s neighbor by not endorsing the results.

The moment of truth has arrived as the defiant Abyei leaders are now contemplating cajoling President Salva Kiir’s administration to endorse the outcome of a vote that never got international recognition.

The government in Juba would be wise to advise the Abyei leaders to follow the agreement that determines the status of Abyei, which is overseen by the AU.

Any mere nod to this so-called endorsement would rattle feathers in Khartoum and also in Addis Ababa including the UN Security Council.

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