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Polls have opened for the second day of voting in southern Sudan's historic referendum to determine whether the region will become an independent nation or continue to be part of Sudan.
On Sunday, the first day of voting passed off largely peacefully but more clashes in the disputed border region of Abyei left at least six dead.
In the southern capital Juba, the atmosphere was festive with voters queuing for hours outside polling stations.
Al Jazeera's Haru Mutasa, reporting from Juba, said that voter turn out of southerners in the north was very low on the first day.
She said that this was possibly because of safety concerns, but also due to the fact that many people travelled to the south to vote.
'Emotional turnout'
Chan Reec Madut, who heads the South Sudan Referendum Bureau, said that turn out in the south was very high.
"We have never witnessed this kind of turnout before, even during the election," Madut said, referring to last April's presidential, parliamentary and state elections.
"The turnout was emotional."
A total of 3.9 million southerners registered for the self-determination vote that may lead to the partition of Africa's largest country.
Salva Kiir, the president of Southern Sudan, cast his ballot in Juba on Sunday and appealed to impatient voters to spread the voting across the scheduled seven days.
PHOTO CAPTION
Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir addresses reporters following his meeting with U.S. Sen. John Kerry in Juba, Southern Sudan, Saturday Jan. 8, 2011.
Al-Jazeera
