Southern Sudanese women in Juba in 2009. (Photo by Stein Ove Korneliussen via Flickr)

While the release of final results could take until February, many expect the vote to go in favor of the south's secession.

The BBC reports:

Turnout was extremely high for the vote, with the referendum commission chairman saying that by the close of polling on Friday some 83 percent of the registered voters cast their ballots in the south.

Southern Sudan is primarily Christian and animist, and the region has long suffered opression from the Arab rulers of the north, causing decades of conflict between the two regions.

An American-backed peace treaty in 2005 gave the south the right to self determination, fueling the region's push for independence.

Voting began Jan. 9.

Read more from the BBC here.