Arab Parliament (AP) Speaker Ahmed al Jarwan hailed on Monday the wise leadership of Sudan and its abiding by democratic procedures with regard to holding a referendum on the administrative status of Darfur region.

Calling on the Sudanese people to stay united, Jarwan stressed that the AP backs holding the referendum to counter attempts aim at sowing divisions among Sudanese.

Earlier in the day, voting started in Darfur region to end a controversy over the administrative status of the region which has been engulfed in a civil war since 2003.

Some 3.3 million voters are registered to vote on the referendum after the Sudanese government finished all preparations for the referendum which comes in implementation of a peace deal signed between the government and the Liberation and Justice Movement in Doha in 2011.

Nearly 93 civil organizations along with 16 international organizations are monitoring the voting on the referendum.

Source: MENA