Disagreements over final figures of the recent census in Sudan are likely to disrupt the countries first democratic polls in 20 years and risk a return to war, a top minister has said.

The north and south fought a two-decade civil war that ended with a 2005 peace deal. But relations remain tense and the agreement faces important tests soon when national elections next year and a referendum on southern independence in 2011.

Nyal Deng Nyal, a minister for Sudan People Liberation Movement Affairs (SPLM) in the south, told AlertNet that contested census results, which give South Sudanese 21% of the country's total population, remain a sticking point.

According to the peace deal, independence will be granted if backed by 50% plus one vote in a referendum. Going by the current census figures at least two-thirds of registered voters will have to cast ballots for the result to be valid.

“A lot of people are now suggesting that there is no reason to participate in these elections because they will not be free or fair, Nyal added.

The vote set for April 2010 is crucial to the success of a peace deal which ended a civil war between north and south Sudan.
- AlertNet