Sudan will hold potentially transformative elections in April 2010 and its complex peace processes require the organisation of three referendums in the coming year, including one in which Southern Sudanese voters will decide on unity or independence. Sudan is therefore entering a crucial period in its history and the country's powerful elites are under pressure to reach agreement on a wide range of complex processes.

This report analyses these critical events and their potential outcomes and recommends how best key actors can engage to affect as smooth processes as possible.