Egypt today said it has provided all facilities for Southern Sudanese nationals residing in Egypt to register for voting in Sudan's key independence referendum slated for 9 January. A document published by WikiLeaks showed that Egypt had attempted to persuade the US--which supports the timely conduct of the referendum--to have the referendum postponed for four years due to Egypt's fears that a secession would negatively affect Egypt's Nile water quota. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said on Saturday that the separation of South Sudan seems inevitable because Sudanese officials have not exerted genuine efforts to keep the biggest African country together. Meanwhile, Mohamed Abdel Hakam, assistant Egyptian foreign minister, said that three polling stations have been set up for Sudanese nationals to register their names, and the registration process will end on 13 December. In a statement to the press, Abdel Hakam added that all facilities requested by the South Sudan Referendum Commission, the Sudanese Embassy, the representative of the South Sudan governement in Cairo and the International Organization for Migration have been provided. Egypt is one of eight countries in which Sudanese nationals will vote, as stipulated by a law issued in Sudan in 2009. The three registration and polling stations have been set up in the Cairo districts of Nasr City, Ain Shams and Maadi.
