The death of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Chairman, President of the Government of Southern Sudan and Sudanese First Vice President John Garang on July 30, 2005, sent shockwaves throughout Sudan and the international community.

This is NDI’s second in-depth study of the Three Areas, which is composed of the states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile and the territory of Abyei. Implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005 is most difficult and peace most precarious in the Three Areas, in part because they lie along the resource-rich North-South border. This research was designed to examine citizen perceptions about progress toward permanent peace since the signing of the CPA.

The goal of NDI's democracy programs, said NDI President Kenneth Wollack, "is to support a transparent, democratic process that gives people the freedom to make choices." Wollack was testifying before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs at a hearing entitled "Egypt at a Crossroads." The panel heard from witnesses from the four U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations (NGO) that were raided by Egyptian authorities in December, and that have employees now banned from leaving the country and