Sudan referendum body agrees post to end deadlock

By Opheera McDoom

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's referendum commission agreed on a key post on Thursday, ending a deadlock which has stalled plans for the January 9 southern vote on independence from the north against which it has fought decades of civil war.

The plebiscite is the climax of a 2005 north-south peace deal which ended Africa's longest civil war.

But bickering over implementing the deal has fuelled mistrust and most analysts believe the south, where most of Sudan's 6 billion barrels of proven oil reserves lie, will secede.

Last month, south Sudan's ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement said it would accept a northerner to take the post of secretary-general, ending a row that had paralysed the nine-member commission's work. The secretary-general is pivotal and controls the funds.

"We agreed - we had only one person that was brought this morning and we agreed that he should be the secretary-general," commission member Lual Chany told Reuters. Mohamed Osman al-Nujoomi had previously worked in the finance ministry, he said. The president would appoint al-Nujoomi to the post.

But the SPLM on Thursday accused the northern ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of trying to derail the January 9 deadline for the emotive vote. Observers say a delay could spark violent protests by southerners throughout Sudan.

"The NCP they have no political will to take decisions - they are buying time...with committee after committee," said senior SPLM official Yasir Arman. "The end game is for the referendum not to take place on time," he said.

At least four committees are tackling sensitive post-referendum issues including the division of oil wealth and defining citizenship but little progress has been made.