Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets
By Atok Dan Baguoot
March 12, 2010 — Nowadays, Juba and other major towns in Southern Sudan and the whole Sudan are beautified by photos of candidates, advertising themselves for their voters to know who they are exactly so that when that D- day comes they should be able to know who they should vote.
Since 70% of voters in Southern Sudan are blind voters, most of the rural voters would be tempted to vote for those beautiful human beings whose photos appear almost like wedding show cast, however, those well fed and decorated photos appear so because of invention of modern equipments that smoothen human skin.
These beautiful elections posters and banners all over Juba towns and anywhere else tell you how serious Southern Sudanese are with democracy although election alone doesn’t measure how mature is the societies in dealing with democracy because election is an element within the Greece Democracy.
“Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable – a most sacred right – a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world.” For this government to be for the people, by the people and of the people, these well selected pictures deserve the space they occupied.
They might be seen as dirtying all the walls and trees but they are healthier than those bullets which riddled them those years. There would be no more wailing and giggling of children for none other than fear of sky giving birth to death besides desired rains. Our founding father of this nation Late Dr. John Garang De Mabior (RIP) said that Sudan will never be the same again as we sign this peace, therefore, Sudan now stands two chances and that is either peace forever or ruin forever and remain as a failed state.
My short message to voters is that never let your voting be swayed by these beautiful profiles full and political rhetoric without knowing who that person is exactly because you will either regret in term less than the last twenty years we spent fighting. Ahead of us are elections but the most important part is the referendum whom we have invested all our efforts whether be it government, civil society and individuals.
I know there are flatter tongue politicians who could be able to convince you beyond your belief, watch out of these talkers. Their speeches would move mountains and turn all impossibilities into possibilities, turn all their messes into strength while their well designed pictures will lure you into beauty contest and vote unwisely based on pictorial compromises.
Most of these politicians have finished all catchy and capturing English positive adjectives, describing all what they are to do to you as the innocent voter. Their well calculated words know your strength and weakness hence; you will always be their victims. Besides pictures, tokens shall be given in exchange of your votes. Sudanese men and women are the most beautiful human beings according to Biblical description, thus be aware when dealing with these pictures.
Lastly, the only barometer of measuring their accuracy is to know them before they could know you after all they all come from our villages and some of them were leaders before so what is the reason of not knowing them better then they think.
Pictorial magnitudes would either sway you but unless you know how much does each beautiful picture cost. Better go to artists along all corridors here in towns to consult so that you know how honest they were in their previous duties. Otherwise, the cost of these large size pictures is almost equivalent to quarterly budget of a young country like Southern Sudan if, and probably this might be where our money looted in the last five years might have gone to. Therefore, your vote will either help reduce or eradicate corruption in determination. Remember our President General Salva Kiir Mayardit saying zero tolerant to corruption.
Atok Dan is a journalist working with Southern Sudan Radio & TV and can be reached at [email protected]
Gatwech
Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets
Atok Dan,
Thank you for your reminders. Don’t worry so much that you think voters are ‘blind’ in the South. They are not blind my dear. They know these politicians for the last five years. Read the news article posted from Bor by Philip Thon about the difficulty Michael Makuei Lueth finds himself in. This is because the voters in the villages know that Michael has not done any thing tangible for them in developmental wise since in office from 2005. So his beautiful picture will not change what the villagers think about him.
I hope they will vote wisely, if elections will be conducted at all, and vote in those leaders who will do well in founding the soon would be born nation of South Sudan.
A nation is not founded until it is born. The South has been in the stage of pregnancy since 1955 or even beyond but soon in 2011 it will be born and thus founded. Blessed are our leaders who will be the founders and therefore fathers of a new independent country in East Africa in the coming year.
Time1
Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets
Atok Dan
Absolutely true, only ballot box will now decide the fate of Sudan, it will decide who will rule and why he/she should rule, whoever is elected will work for the country and people and not the countrr and people work for him/her, any other way will not be accepted by the people. many people do not understand but true democratic system makes the country more prosperious and bring more understanding between the people, it is the best system so far compared to other forms of governing.