The Sudanese government on Monday criticized the United States for doubting an ongoing referendum on Darfur's administrative status.

"The referendum is a requirement for the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) which won international support of the United Nations, the African Union, the Arab League and many countries, including the United States itself," Sudan's foreign ministry said in a statement issued on Monday.

"The U.S. State Department's statement on Darfur referendum does not serve the ongoing peace process and increases the obstinacy of the rebel movement and their rejection to the peace option," it added.

The ministry further refuted Washington's claim regarding lack of suitable atmosphere for conducting the referendum, which kicked off on Monday.

"The Sudanese government adopted serious steps to create a suitable atmosphere for the referendum including sending specialized teams that have embarked early in the registration where over 90 percent of the voters have been registered including those in the camps of internally displaced persons," said the statement.

It added that the government also worked to provide security, reached reconciliation agreements among tribes, resettled the displaced with necessary services.

Earlier, the U.S. Department of State expressed serious concerns about the timing of the referendum.

The department's deputy spokesperson, Mark Toner, said in a statement that the referendum could not be credible in the current security and political situation in the region.

''If held under current rules and conditions, a referendum on the status of Darfur cannot be considered a credible expression of the will of the people of Darfur," he noted.

He went on saying "moreover, it will undermine the peace process now underway."

Voting started on Monday in Sudan's Darfur in a referendum on whether to keep its current system of five states, or to render Darfur into a single region.

A total of 3,532,226 registered voters will have three days to make their choice at 1,420 polling stations in 65 localities, in accordance with the DDPD, signed in 2011.

The referendum is conducted in accordance with the DDPD, signed between the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in 2011, provided that its result is to be included in the country's permanent constitution.

Major rebel movements in Darfur reject the referendum, demanding that the Khartoum fulfill their demands of reaching a political solution with the armed groups and financially compensating citizens affected by the conflict.

The Sudanese government, however, stressed that the referendum must go ahead according to the peace deal.

According to the agreement, if Darfur citizens vote for one state, then the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority (TDRA) will form a constitutional committee to determine the authority of Darfur's regional governments.

However, if Darfur citizens vote for the current five states, then, according to the agreement, the current status of the five states will remain as they are, and the TDRA will be dissolved.

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by Xinhua News Agency

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