The World Evangelical Alliance’s Geoff Tunnicliffe talks about efforts to ensure a fair and peaceful election in Sudan and calls for a world day of prayer for the safety of believers there.

At the Lausanne Movement’s Cape Town 2010 congress, Christianity Today editor in chief David Neff met with Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director of the World Evangelical Alliance, and 28 representatives of Christian churches in Sudan—some from the traditionally Muslim North and most from the Christian and animist South.

Tunnicliffe and Neff listened to the Sudanese delegates’ worries about what might happen if their upcoming referendum on independence for southern Sudan resulted in a vote for secession. They also heard the Sudanese plead for prayers and request resources to help them resettle a potential flood of displaced persons.

After they returned from South Africa, Neff asked Tunnicliffe to explain to CT readers the nature of the upcoming vote and the reasons for Christians around the globe to engage in prayer for this election…

Why is this referendum, scheduled for January 9, so important?
Sudan has experienced civil war for the last 50 years with just a few breaks. When the civil war ended five years ago, the agreement was that there would be a vote, a referendum held by the south Sudanese to determine whether they should stay as part of Sudan or become a separate country. That was a key part of the peace agreement, so it’s really important that the people of southern Sudan have the freedom to make that choice.

What are the threats right now? Is there even talk of not holding the referendum?

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