Election Excitement in Sudan

Hanging on fences and store fronts, nailed to tree trunks and plastered on walls, the signs are everywhere: Come and Vote!  For the first time in a quarter century, after 21 years of civil war, the peoples of Southern Sudan are able to vote.  Over a span of 4 days in mid-April they cast their votes.

Whereas foreigners living in S. Sudan were uneasy about the potential for violence erupting, the resident Sudanese showed nothing but enthusiasm for the election.  They view it as a significant prelude to the 2011 vote for secession to become their own country.  They are ready!