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The Elections in Southern Sudan are shame, fraudulent and Farcical

Press Releases

Public Statement 

April 27, 2010 (Juba) — The National Elections Commission (NEC) announced yesterday the final results of the General Elections in Southern Sudan. This entails elections for the President of the Republic, the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Governors for the ten States and members of the Legislative Assemblies on the three levels of Government. The results that the National Elections Commission has announced for the three levels of Government in Southern Sudan are not acceptable to us because there were not free and fair. Indeed, these elections in the South were managed and rigged by the SPLA, the army of South Sudan and not by the election commission which had absolutely no presence in Southern Sudan.

A free and fair election requires that there must be a level field for all the political parties and individuals seeking election, a neutral and independent National Elections Commission and a conductive atmosphere for the process. The presence of national and international monitors is supposed to ensure that the elections process is transparent and that voters are free to choose the candidates of their preference. 

Regarding a level field for political activities, this was non-existent in Southern Sudan for the last five years. Political parties and individuals other than the SPLM were denied the right to propagate their ideas and policies in the South. Despite this limitation many saw the elections as an opening for the parties and individuals to present themselves to the people. The political parties in Southern Sudan even signed with the SPLM an Electoral Code of Conduct on the 2nd of March 2010 under the aegis of the AU High Level Implementation Panel. This Code was not implemented.

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USSP Condemns the Repeated Detentions of its Leader

News, Press Releases

Press Release

April 16, 2010 (SSNA) — The United South Sudan Party (USSP) condemns in the strongest terms all the harassments and detentions to which it’s Leader, Mr. Clement Juma Mbungoniwia was unnecessary and illegally exposed.

Mr. Mbungoniwia, a lawyer by profession, was detained several times on Tuesday 13th and Wednesday 14 April 2010, by the security personnel and the police while in Source Yubu Payam, Western Equatoria State, in south Sudan,and was lastly asked to leave the Payam for Tambura, together with a truck that was hired by the USSP to transport its supporters from Mabenge to Kpatanayo polling station.

However while in Tambura, the Supreme Judge was able to free Mr. Mbungoniwia, and asked him to return to Source Yubu and resume his political activities normally as none has the right to arrest him (Mbungoniwia) without first consulting with the Supreme Judge’s Office given the former’s legal background.

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The National Elections Commission and the flouting of the National Elections Act and Rules

News, Press Releases, South Sudan, Top Stories

February 11, 2010 (Khartoum) — 1. Yesterday, 8/2/2010, the National Supreme Court decided to dismiss on procedural grounds the objection deposited before it by the SPLM-DC to the nomination of General Salva Kiir Mayardit to the office of President of the Government of Southern Sudan. A translation of the decision of the Court is attached. It did not look into the substance of the objection. The essence of its decision was that the objection should have been decided upon by the National Elections Commission.

2.The SPLM-DC had on 5/2/2010 deposited the said objection to the National Elections Commission on the grounds that: (1) General Salva Kiir is still an active officer in the SPLA which is recognized in Article 144(1) as a national organized force which members are prohibited by Article 12(2)(a) of the Political Parties Act 2007 from involvement in politics, and (2) his attestation as part of the nomination requirements to respect the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is not valid since in practice he was violating the same. A copy of the objection document is attached.

3. The background to the objection is that the High Elections Committee for Southern Sudan in Juba in compliance with Article 45 (1 and 2) of the National Elections Act 2008 read together with Article 10(1 and 2) of the General Elections Rules 2009, published on 29/1/2010 the list of the nominations to the office of President of the Government of Southern Sudan, and made it public that the parties concerned may raise objections on Form (11) to any nomination within seventy two hours from the date of publication above.

4. The SPLM-DC did make the objection which it handed to the National Elections Commission on the 1st of February 2010 so that the Commission could decide on it in accordance with Article 10(3) of the General Elections Rules 2009. The Chairman of the Commission, Mr Abel Alier, wrote to the SPLM-DC on the 2nd of February advising that it may, if it wished, “complain/appeal to the National Supreme Court which has established a special court in Khartoum, to look into complaints/appeals on nominations”. A copy of this letter is attached.

5. The SPLM-DC replied back on the same day stressing that the decision was within the competence of the Commission and not the Court as is clearly stipulated in Article 45 of the Act and Article 10 of the Rules. The SPLM-DC enclosed a letter which Mr. Abel Alier had written secretly and without the knowledge of the other members of the Commission on 21/1/2010 to General Salva Kiir Mayardit advising that he may nominate himself or be nominated by others. Abel’s letter which is self-explanatory is attached. In its reply to the Commission’s letter the SPLM-DC explained that Abel’s letter was based on false information given to him by Minister Dr Luka Biong Deng that General Salva Kiir was retired from the SPLA by the late Dr John Garang in May 2007(sic) and that the objection provided facts questioning this false information on the matter. The SPLM-DC’s letter to the Chairman of the Commission dated 2/2/2010 is attached.

6. The Commission did not reply the last SPLM-DC’s letter and the party had no option but to resort to the National Supreme Court on 5/2/2010 as advised by the Chairman of the Commission above.

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