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OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #1032/01 2510425
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 080425Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4386
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001032 
 
NSC FOR MGAVIN, LETIM 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KPKO SOCI SU
 
SUBJECT: AEC PLENARY: NINE OUTSTANDING REFERENDUM LAW ISSUES 
 
REF: A) KHARTOUM 931 B) KHARTOUM 952 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: At the Assessment and Evaluation (AEC) Plenary 
Meeting on September 1, Abdulla Idris, co-chairman of the National 
Constitution Review Commission (NCRC) laid out the nine major points 
disputed by the parties on the Referendum law.  AEC members urged 
the parties to move forward.  Border demarcation and payment of 
Abyei arrears are forthcoming according to the NCP's State Minister 
of the Presidency Idriss. End Summary 
 
Border Demarcation Slows 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Ambassador Derek Plumbly applauded the new momentum on CPA 
implementation and acknowledged continued public debate on certain 
issues. He noted that border demarcation has stalled and urged the 
parties to meet the September 30 deadline for completion of 
demarcation. UN Political Affairs Chief Muin Shreim noted that UNMIS 
had provided a base map of old boundaries and over flights of the 
area in support of border demarcations (Ref A). 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) AU Liasion Office Chief Political Officer Boitshoko 
Mokgatlhe said that the AU Peace and Security Council will send a 
team to meet with the parties and international community about 
elections and concerns over the lack of implementation of certain 
key protocols in the CPA. 
 
Referendum Law: Nine Issues Outstanding 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Abdulla Idris, co-chairman of the National Constitution 
Review Commission provided a full readout of the status of the 
Referendum Law (Ref B).  Both parties insisted that the political 
will is present to solve the outstanding issues.  Idriss highlighted 
the need for a "package deal" to resolve all the issues at one 
time. 
 
The nine issues are as follows: 
 
-- Electoral System:  The NCP wants to fix a percentage of the total 
eligible Southern voters as a "quorum" large enough to legitimize 
the vote; the SPLM wants the number of voters who choose to 
participate to constitute the "quorum".  The SPLM has suggested the 
referendum itself be decided by simple majority (50 percent plus 
one) while the NCP insists on a 75 percent "super majority". 
 
-- Voter Participation: The NCP insists that 75 percent of eligible 
voters must participate in the referendum in order for a vote to be 
legitimated. 
 
-- Eligible Voters: The parties disagree on who should be eligible 
to vote in the referendum.  SPLM contends that only Southerners 
living in the South should be allowed to vote, while the NCP wants 
the vote extended to the over 400,000 Southerners they say live in 
the North as well as to Southerners living abroad. 
 
-- Voting Process:  The SPLM wants to use two ballot boxes so that 
illiterate voters will find the process less confusing;  the NCP 
wants only one box.  Both methods raise issues with security and 
privacy of the vote. 
 
-- Phrasing: The NCP insists that the phrasing of the Referendum law 
should focus on unity rather than separation. 
 
-- Referendum Commission: The SPLM wants a Referendum Commission 
composed of two equal co-chairs while the NCP wants a commission 
composed of an NCP Chairman and SPLM Deputy Chairman. 
 
-- Seat of Commission:  The SPLM wants the seat of the commission 
located in Juba while the NCP insists it be in Khartoum.  The CPA 
stipulates the Commission will be based in Khartoum.  Both parties 
disagree about what powers the Khartoum and Juba offices will have. 
 
-- Post Referendum Arrangements:  The NCP wants a law covering the 
referendum, while the SPLM favors a binding agreement signed by both 
parties. In the trilateral talks, the NCP retreated from its 
insistence that post-referendum arrangements be included in the 
Referendum law. 
 
--  Security: The parties disagree about who should provide security 
for the referendum.  The SPLM insists the SPLA and Southern Sudan 
Police will provide security while the NCP wants the SAF and 
National Security Services involved. 
 
KHARTOUM 00001032  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Abyei Arrears Paid 
------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) State Minister of the Presidency Idriss noted that 48 
million SDG would be transferred to the Abyei administration soon. 
Idriss said that he has requested the Abyei Border Demarcation 
Committee to submit proposed costs and equipment needs.  Idris 
stated that the Abyei Border Demarcation Oversight Committee will be 
appointed once the Border Demarcation Committee is in the field. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Norwegian Ambassador, chair of the AEC Security Working 
Group, raised the issue of violence in Jonglei as a threat to 
security in Southern Sudan.  The AEC members agreed to monitor the 
issue. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Comment:  As usual, the AEC plenary broke little new 
ground.  There were discussions on the margins about unverified 
press reports that he NCP and SPLM have come to agreement on some of 
the nine referendum issues. 
 
WHITEHEAD