SPLM’s politburo rejects referendum delay
The final communiqué of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement’s (SPLM) politburo meeting in Juba, August 13 - 16, declared that, “there shall be no retreat from holding the referendum as scheduled on January 9, 2011.”
The South Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC), which is tasked with organizing the exercise, has been deadlocked over the appointment of a secretary-general.
On March 15, the SSRC’s chairman, Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil, threatened to resign, saying that the southern members of the commission were voting as a block to prevent any northerner from taking the disputed post.
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article36003
With a little US push:
U.S. special envoy hold talks with Sudanese officials
The U.S. State department spokesperson Philip J. Crowley told reporters today that Gration is seeking to push the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) to live up to all of the criteria under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and continue to move forward in preparation for the referendum next January".
Currently the referendum preparation process is lagging well behind the timeline stipulated by the CPA primarily because of the delay in adopting the referendum law and the formation of the commission primarily because of disagreements between the NCP and the SPLM.
The referendum panel has yet to pick its secretary general because of SPLM objections over whether it should be a figure from the North or the South. Furthermore, the commission does not have headquarters or regulations in place to begin functioning leading its chief Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil to suggest that the January 9, 2011 date for the key vote would not be attainable.
According to the government sponsored Sudanese Media Centre (SMC) Khalil briefed Gration today on the time constraints facing the commission to discharge its mandate. He told SMC that the U.S. special envoy was "understanding" to the need to push both sides to agree on a secretary general.