Earlier partial results had put the outcome of the vote beyond doubt, but official figures were announced publicly for the first time during a ceremony attended by President Salva Kiir in the southern capital Juba.
The discreet leader, who is to steer southern Sudan to statehood in July after overseeing a six-year transition period, said the more than two million victims of the 1983-2005 civil war did not die in vain.
Chan Reec, the chairperson of the Southern Sudan Referendum Bureau in charge of polling in the south, said a whopping 99.6% of those who voted in the south chose secession.
Turnout in the south stood at 99% and only 16 129 people voted for Africa’s largest country to remain united, said Reec, whose announcement was met by cheers from the crowd.
Source: news24