A census, which was necessary for the election to be held, was initially planned to be held in July 2007, then from 15 November 2007 onwards, then delayed to be held from 2 February 2008 onwards due to funding issues.[12] It was again postponed to 15–30 April 2008.[13][14] On 12 April 2008, a few days before the census was slated to start, the SPLM withdrew from the census, stating that they wanted IDPs to return to their homes before the census would take place.[15] However, it was agreed on 14 April 2008 to start the census on 22 April 2008 instead.[16] It was finished by 6 May 2008 (with about 90% of the country covered by then; many people claimed, however, not to have been counted, but officials stated that in no state was the covering rate below 80%.[17]) Preliminary results that hit the press in early July claimed a population of about 38 million, with 3.8 million in Southern Sudan.