At stake in this Referendum:

• A referendum to determine whether Southern Sudan will remain a part of Sudan.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR
• Head of Government: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR
• Assembly: Sudan has a bicameral National Legislature (Majlis Watani) consisting of the Council of States (Majlis Welayat) with 50 seats* and the National Assembly (Majlis Watani) with 450 seats**.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system.
• In the Council of States (Majlis Welayat) 50 members are elected by indirect vote to serve 6-year terms*. In the National Assembly (Majlis Watani) 450 members are elected by popular vote to serve 6-year terms.**

* Two members are elected by the legislature of each of 25 states.

** 60 percent of seats are elected by plurality vote in single-member districts. 15 percent of seats are elected under closed-list proportional representation. Multi-member constituencies correspond to states, and the threshold is 4 percent in each. Finally, 25 percent of seats are elected under closed-list proportional representation from lists that may contain only women. Again, the constituencies correspond to states, and the threshold is 4 percent in each.

Main provisions in the Referendum:

• A referendum to determine whether Southern Sudan will remain a part of Sudan.

Electoral Requirements

• In order for the referendum to pass, 60% of eligible voters have to turn out. If this happens, a plurality of those voting have to vote in favor of independence.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 36,918,193 (2011)
• Registered Voters: 3,932,588 (December 2010)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 18,393,712 (2011)

·         Is Sudan a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Sudan ratified CEDAW: No

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 114 (National Assembly); 5 (Council of States) following the 2010 elections

·         Human Development Index Position: 167 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Sudan a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Sudan ratified CRPD: Yes (24 April 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 5,537,728 (est.)