A referendum took place in Southern Sudan from 9 to 15 January 2011, on whether the region should remain a part of Sudan or become independent. The referendum was one of the consequences of the 2005 Naivasha Agreement between the Khartoum central government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M).
A simultaneous referendum was supposed to be held in Abyei on whether to become part of South Sudan but it was postponed due to conflict over demarcation and residency rights.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA, Arabic: اتفاقية السلام الشامل, romanized: Ittifāqiyyah al-salām al-šāmil), also known as the Naivasha Agreement, was an accord signed on 9 January 2005, by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan. The CPA was meant to end the Second Sudanese Civil War, develop democratic governance countrywide, and share oil revenues. It also set a timetable for a Southern Sudanese independence referendum.
The peace process was encouraged by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in addition to a "troika" of donor countries comprising the United States, United Kingdom, and Norway.
Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951), commonly known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who has served as the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, as well as First Vice President of Sudan, from 2005 to 2011. He was named Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 2005, following the death of John Garang.
Kiir was born to the Dinka ethnic group and joined Anyanya rebels fighting for Southern independence during the First Sudanese Civil War in 1967. Following the outbreak of the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983, Kiir joined the new Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) rebel group led by John Garang as a member of its armed wing, the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA), eventually becoming the head of the SPLA. Following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the South gained autonomy under the leadership of Garang in July 2005. Following Garang's death at the end of the month, Kiir became the new President of the Southern Autonomous region, as well as First Vice President of the central government. Kiir won re-election as President following the 2010 South Sudanese general election. The following year, South Sudan gained independence after the 2011 South Sudanese independence referendum with Kiir as its inaugural President.
An independence referendum is a type of referendum in which the residents of a territory decide whether the territory should become an independent sovereign state. An independence referendum that results in a vote for independence does not always ultimately result in independence.
Regional elections were held in Southern Sudan between 11 and 15 April 2010 as part of the Sudanese general election. The result was a victory for Salva Kiir of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, who received almost 93% of the vote. The winners of these elections would later continue in office upon South Sudan's independence after a referendum in 2011.
As of 2025, these are the last South Sudanese elections.