KHARTOUM, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Sudanese began registering this month for their first multi-party elections in 24 years, but major obstacles to the vote remain. The northern National Congress Party (NCP) signed a 2005 peace deal with the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), ending more than two decades of civil war fought over religion, ethnicity, oil and ideology. But Sudan analysts say the NCP lacks the political will and the SPLM lacks the capacity to implement the agreement which enshrines democratic transformation, elections and gives the south a vote on independence in 2011. With elections five months away, relations between the former foes are at an all-time low, especially after SPLM leader Salva Kiir told southerners that a vote for unity would make them second-class citizens. The main outstanding problems include: DEMOCRATIC LAWS The SPLM wants a package of democratic laws passed including reforming the criminal code, the trade unions and Sudan's powerful intelligence forces, which opponents blamed for widespread torture and unlawful killings during the war. The SPLM also want laws guiding the referendums for the south and the oil-rich region of Abyei as well as popular consultations for two other disputed areas on whether they will be part of the north or the south. The SPLM is boycotting parliament until the laws are drafted by consensus and tabled in this last parliamentary session ahead of elections. CENSUS The SPLM reject last year's census, which should be used to define electoral constituencies for next year's vote. They say the NCP bloated figures for the north, especially for Arab tribes in war-torn Darfur, which then reduced the south's proportion of the population. This would affect the number of parliamentary seats the north and south would be eligible for. The NCP stands by the census results and U.S. envoy Scott Gration is trying to negotiate a middle ground. BORDER The north-south border has yet to be demarcated. This is very sensitive as many of Sudan's valuable oil fields traverse the frontier. The semi-autonomous south gets 50 percent of oil revenues only from fields south of the border. More than 95 percent of the south's budget come from oil cash. Crude accounts for around half of the north's income. SOUTHERN VIOLENCE This year has seen a spike in tribal violence in south Sudan with U.N. estimates of at least 1,200 killed. The southern government blames the north for inciting and arming rival cattle herding tribes in the south, which Khartoum denies. But some southerners and U.N. sources say local rivalries are to blame as well as a security vacuum with a weak police force that has no influence outside urban centres. Elections officials are worried the violence will prevent many in rural areas participating in the vote. DARFUR Rebels in Sudan's west took up arms in early 2003 accusing central government of neglect. The ensuing counter-insurgency campaign, which Washington called genocide, sparked one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and claimed 300,000 lives, the United Nations says. With millions of people driven from their homes to makeshift camps, registration and identification will be thorny. Ongoing clashes and violent banditry in the lawless region will make voting and observing difficult as will accessing rebel-held areas. The SPLM and the African Union want a Darfur peace deal ahead of elections. ELECTIONS Opposition parties and the SPLM say they want state-run tv, radio and other media to be opened up to all political parties ahead of the April 2010 elections. They also want the right to hold rallies without permission and for international monitors to have unfettered access all over the country. A 30-day registration period for the vote made a slow start on Nov. 1 with a widespread lack of information and monitors have complained of restrictions. (Reporting by Opheera McDoom; editing by Myra MacDonald)
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi (R) holds and raises hands with Saleh al-Mutlaq (L), head of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front, during an event held to announce the formation of ...
