Sudan at the Crossroads: Elections, Abyei and the Darfur Conflict

The report details a seminar on Sudan's political transition under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Discussions focused on the challenges of upcoming elections, the resolution of the Abyei border dispute via the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and the ongoing instability in Darfur. Speakers highlighted the CPA's limitations, including its lack of representativeness and unresolved issues regarding oil revenue sharing and the separation of religion and state.

• The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) aimed to make 'unity attractive' to Sudanese citizens and led to the creation of inclusive legislative, executive, and judicial bodies through the Interim National Constitution.
• Upcoming elections in Sudan face three primary obstacles: insufficient funding for the National Electoral Commission, poor transport and communication infrastructure in Africa's largest country, and security threats from active rebel militias, especially in Darfur.
• The Abyei border dispute reached a milestone with a July 2009 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, though a referendum to decide if the region joins the North or South is scheduled for 2011.
• Critics argue the CPA is flawed because it only involved two main parties—the NCP and SPLM—and failed to represent the broader Sudanese population, while also struggling with the difficulty of separating religion from the state in a majority Muslim society.
• Significant hurdles to the CPA's full implementation remain, including approximately 200 unresolved agenda items, ethnic conflicts in the south, and highly contested oil revenue sharing, which may discourage Southern Sudan from choosing unity over secession.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2009). Sudan at the Crossroads: Elections, Abyei and the Darfur Conflict. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SUDANSEMREP050809.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Sudan at the Crossroads: Elections, Abyei and the Darfur Conflict. 2009. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SUDANSEMREP050809.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Sudan at the Crossroads: Elections, Abyei and the Darfur Conflict |date=7 August 2009 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SUDANSEMREP050809.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2009sudan, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Sudan at the Crossroads: Elections, Abyei and the Darfur Conflict}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2009}, month = aug, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SUDANSEMREP050809.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }