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.