Darfur votes to retain multi-state system

Sudan’s western region of Darfur has voted to retain its current multi-state administrative status, the electoral commission says. More than 97% of voters in a referendum chose to remain as five states rather than form a single region, it said. The vote was boycotted by major rebel and opposition groups which say a united region […]

Sudan’s western region of Darfur has voted to retain its current multi-state administrative status, the electoral commission says.
More than 97% of voters in a referendum chose to remain as five states rather than form a single region, it said.
The vote was boycotted by major rebel and opposition groups which say a united region would have more autonomy.
The referendum was part of a peace process to end 13 years of conflict that has left 300,000 people dead. Ahead of the vote, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crimes charges related to Darfur, said it would be a free and fair poll.