Map of the contested Abyei Administrative Area.

The government of the Abyei Special Administrative Area has renewed calls on the national government to formally recognize the results of the 2013 referendum, in which the people of Abyei unanimously voted to join South Sudan.

Abyei, home to the Ngok Dinka people, overwhelmingly voted in October 2013 to join South Sudan, but both Juba and Khartoum rejected the results.

Nearly 12 years later, the Minister of Information in Abyei, Yohanna Akol, says it is time for the government of South Sudan to formally endorse the outcome and allow the region to officially become part of the country.

Minister Akol explained that the region’s parliament and its council of ministers recently endorsed the results and submitted them to the National Parliament for ratification.

He appealed to the national government to act swiftly, saying the people of Abyei have waited too long for their decision to be honoured.

“As an administrative area, we know that our President is fully aware of the Abyei issue, but we appeal to the national government that the time has come to consider and resolve it,” Minister Akol said.

“Although 12 years have passed since the Abyei referendum and we are approaching 13 years, we remain optimistic as an administrative area that the leadership in the capital, Juba, will follow up until it is approved by the Council of Ministers.

“We hope that the Council of Ministers will, in the coming period, adopt the results of the referendum and then submit them to the National Parliament for ratification and onward submission to the President of the Republic for final approval. We are hopeful of this, and therefore appeal to our party leadership to expedite the process,” he added.

Under the terms of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the oil-rich region was supposed to vote in a referendum in 2011. But both countries disagreed on who qualified as residents of Abyei and who was eligible to vote.

Sudan insists the Misseriya nomads, who graze cattle in Abyei during the dry season, should have been included in the vote. South Sudan, however, does not recognize the Misseriya as natives of the area and rejected their participation.

The national government has not yet commented on the renewed call.