South Sudan party pulls out of vote in oil state

By Ulf Laessing

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - South Sudan's ruling party said on Friday it would not recognise an election in the north's main oil state and would not serve in its parliament or government because it said Khartoum rigged the vote.

The state of Southern Kordofan will stay with the north but analysts say any talk of fraud could spark violence between supporters of the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the northern ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

South Sudan voted to declare independence from Khartoum in a January referendum promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war with the north. The split is due in July.

Southern Kordofan held the governorship vote more than a week ago but no results have been announced.

Many of the state's population fought alongside southern rebels during the civil war and fear they will be targeted in the new, separate north Sudan. The vote was delayed from April last year after the SPLM accused Khartoum of rigging a census.

"We will not recognise the election in South Kordofan because the National Election Commission (NEC) is a tool of the NCP and trying to rig the vote," said Yasir Arman, head of the northern section of the SPLM.

"We will not participate in the parliament or (future) government in South Kordofan because we have proof the vote was rigged," he told Reuters.

The NEC rejected the accusations and said counting would continue without the SPLM, with initial results expected on Saturday afternoon.