South Sudan swore in Salva Kiir as its first elected president today and the former rebel is likely to lead the semi-autonomous region to independence after a referendum in less than eight months, according to Reuters. Kiir won the April election against his only rival and former ally Lam Akol with almost 93 percent of the vote. Akol is challenging the win in court, accusing Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) of widespread fraud and intimidation during the polls, which was the first time Kiir himself had cast a vote. The SPLM ended 22 years of civil war with a 2005 peace deal giving the south its own government, wealth sharing, furthering of democracy, and allowing southerners a referendum on secession, due to be held on Jan. 9, 2011. "The entire system that has continued to underpin the Sudanese state from the dawn of independence, continues today and is presently at an advanced stage of rotting completely," Kiir told a gathering of about 3,000 people including Ugandan President and close ally Yoweri Museveni and former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi.
