Jonglei governor dismisses attempts to delay South Sudan referendum

December 16, 2010 (BOR) –The governor of South Sudan state of Jonglei Kuol Manyang Juuk has dismissed attempts to stall the referendum scheduled to start next year describing as “malicious” and “shouldn’t be allowed by peace loving people.”

“This is a malicious action and statement,” said governor Kuol. “Those elements [calling for annulment of voter registration] and who are claiming insecurity in Jonglei state are the people who are inclined to undermine the comprehensive peace agreement,” he added.

A referendum is due to be held on January 9 that could see Sudan’s autonomous and mostly Christian south break away from the predominantly Arab and Muslim north. The Sudanese presidential assistant Nafie Ali Nafie today acknowledged that secession is all but certain.

Three weeks of voter registration for the referendum ended last week, with more than three million people signing up to vote in the south according to electoral officials.

The independent Al-Sahafa daily newspaper reported that no referendum vote will take place in three states namely Jonglei and Unity for security reasons and North Bahr el-Ghazal for logistical reasons.

The report of cancellation was attributed to statements made by Fatih Izzeldinne, head of Labor commission at the Sudanese National Assembly.

Izzeldinne said that a National Assembly delegation had been informed about the issue by James Wani South Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA) speaker during a recent visit to Juba. Wani could not be reached for comment when contacted by Sudan Tribune.

Governor Kuol also commented on news that the Sudan Constitutional Court accepted a legal challenge made by a group of lawyers to the voter registration process and calling for its annulment.

Among the arguments put forward by the group that the referendum law stipulates that registering the voters and finalizing the lists should have been completed three months prior to the vote. Because the Sudanese national assembly has not passed any amendments to the current law and thus the voter registration process should be deemed unconstitutional.

Kuol suggested that delaying the referendum will be a recipe for war saying “those groups, in fact a minority, are playing with fire.”

“I know the constitutional court of the Sudan will not give these people a win. It’s a futile attempt,” he said.

“And I call upon the UN, the international community and the Sudanese peace loving people, not to allow these people to undermine CPA [comprehensive peace agreement],” he added.

The governor lambasted the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir for not making unity attractive. He said that in Jonglei state for instance, the promised road projects have been abandoned.

“These roads have not been finished and will not be finished. The people now feel that the unity [of the Sudan] has not being made attractive,” he said.

(ST)