By Xinhua,
Khartoum : Sudan will take a national census on April 22, first of its kind since 2005 peace agreement between the central government and southern Sudanese government, a presidential spokesman said on Monday.
“The census will start on April 22 all over the country,” said Mahjub Fadel Badri, the spokesman of President Omer al-Bashir, after a meeting early Monday at which senior officials made the decision.
Ongoing census crisis between the central government in Khartoum and the southern Sudanese government is expected to be solved, said Vice President Taha before the meeting.
Earlier on Saturday, Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM),the former rebel and present ruling party in southern Sudan, has postponed the census slated for April 15, deciding to exclude the South from the census until the end of the year.
Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) led by President Omer al-Bashir on Saturday accused SPLM for “creating a new crisis in order to destroy the peace agreement.”
SPLM and the Khartoum government inked the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 to end a 21-year civil war in Sudan.
According to the agreement, a referendum is to be held in southern Sudan in 2011 on whether it to be independent or remain as part of Sudan.