In Sudan, officials monitoring the week-long referendum on Southern Sudan’s future say turnout has reached the required threshold to make the result binding. Residents of Southern Sudan are expected to vote to split from the mostly Muslim north. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said turnout has hit the required minimum of 60 percent of the voters.

Jimmy Carter: “There is a requirement to legitimize the election, or the referendum, that 60 percent of those registered vote. And that criterion has already been reached. So there’s no doubt about the legitimacy of the election, as far as the number of votes cast.”