in VOA Special English.On Sunday,the people of southern Sudanbegin deciding whether or notto become the world's newest nation.A week of voting is expectedto split Africa's largest country in two.(SOUND)Friday was the final day of campaigning.Southern Sudanese paraded through Juba,their possible future capital.The vote comes from a peace agreementsix years ago.Almost four million peoplehave registered to vote.David Gressly,the top United Nations officialin the south, saysvoting centers are ready.DAVID GRESSLY: " security situation is calm.It's been calm for a number of weeks.So we think this is goingto start on time.It will go very peacefully."Observers from around the worldhave gathered in Sudan for the voting.Final results are not expectedfor several weeks.Many southerners have beenreturning from the north.They fear the unknown.Yet so do many northern Sudanese.They have urged southernersto vote for unity.But many southerners feeltheir part of the countryhas been treated unfairlyby the central government in Khartoum.The peace agreement was signedin January of two thousand five.It ended more thantwenty years of civil warbetween the north and the south.The conflict cost an estimatedtwo million lives.It also prevented most economicdevelopment in the south-- one of the poorest areasin the world.Sudanese President Omar al-Bashirvisited Juba on Tuesday.He says his government will respectthe results of the vote.The southern leader, Salva Kiir,has promised the same.Historically, southern Sudanhas had greater culturaland economic ties to East Africathan to the Arab-led governmentin Khartoum.The north is majority Muslim.The south is mainly Christiansand animists who followtraditional African religions.44 million people live in Sudan.Estimates of how many of themlive in the south are between about7.5 million and nearly 10 million.Most of the oil in Sudanis in the south.But the oil is processed and exported-- at least for now-- from Port Sudan in the north.Rosie Sharpe from the environmentalrights group Global Witness saythat means the north and southwill have to cooperate.The two sides will have to settleother issues of borders,citizenship rights and water.But the biggest issue is oil.The peace agreementdivided oil earnings.The south gets almost allof its money from oil.But that wealth-sharing deal endswhen the Comprehensive Peace Agreementexpires this July.Ms. Sharpe says any future dealneeds to be more in the open.She says no one is even sure exactlyhow much oil Sudan produces.China has the largest oil pumpingoperation there.Justin Willis, an East Africa researcherat Britain's Durham University, saysSudan's oil industry is deep in mystery.JUSTIN WILLIS: "There are complicatedspecial deals involving the outputfrom each of the fields.Unsurprisingly there has beena lot of suspicion in Jubathat they are not gettingwhat they are supposed to get,and this really is a verymajor issue for the future."And that's IN THE NEWSin VOA Special English.