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South Kordofan polls authority says no way to review vote-counting

May 11, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The National Election Commission (NEC), which is organizing contentious elections in Sudan’s central state of South Kordofan, on Wednesday declared that the vote aggregation process has been finalized and there is no way to review it.

Polling staff and local observers seal ballot boxes on the last day of voting in South Kordofan State May 4, 2011 (Reuters Pictures)
Polling staff and local observers seal ballot boxes on the last day of voting in South Kordofan State May 4, 2011 (Reuters Pictures)
The situation in the oil-producing state of South Kordofan, where voting in long-delayed legislative and gubernatorial elections was largely peaceful, reached a tense point on Wednesday after the north Sudan sector of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), which controls South Sudan, withdrew its agents from the committee handling aggregation of vote results.

SPLM officials cited claims of spotting a “bogus” polling station containing rigged ballot boxes in the absence of party agents and observers, saying their party would not resume participation in the committee unless NEC declares the said polling station null and void.

In a statement carried on Wednesday by Sudan’s official news agency SUNA, the Khartoum-based NEC closed the door for demands to review the results, saying that the process of vote counting, aggregation and tabulation of preliminary results had been finalized at the all 555 polling sites. The statement further added that party agents and candidates had signed the results in the presence of observers.

NEC said that the results had been delivered in sealed envelopes to the state’s high-commission, adding that now there is no way to review the results.

Meanwhile, the SPLM has responded to the offer put forward by its rival National Congress Party (NCP), which rules north Sudan, to share the state’s executive authority, saying it will not accept the deputy governor position in exchange for accepting fraud.

The secretary-general of the SPLM’s northern-sector, Yasir Arman, said in a press on Wednesday that the NCP’s offer to give the SPLM the position of deputy governor is not acceptable to the SPLM. “The SPLM will not accept rigging or seek war, but will rather engage in a peaceful democratic activity and unyielding civil resistance,” Arman said.

NCP official Nafi Ali Nafi on Tuesday said that his party was willing to offer the SPLM a share in the state’s governorship, reiterating claims that the NCP’s incumbent candidate Ahmad Harun, a man wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Darfur region, won the vote.

SPLM officials also preempted the announcement of the results, declaring that their candidate for state governor, Abdul Aziz Adam Al-Hilu, won the vote.

Meanwhile, the NCP has stressed it will not allow any quarter to undermine security and stability in the state. NCP’s political secretariat Al-Haj Adam Yusif accused the SPLM of playing bad losers by boycotting vote-counting. “There is no point in boycotting it [vote-counting]. It is known that if one side realized it is going to lose the election, it will stir up troubles, this is not the first time it happens,” Yusif said.

Yusif further asserted that the state apparatus is capable of safeguarding citizens and asserting security at the time of results announcement.

Southern Kordofan, the site of oilfields and important civil war battlegrounds on the undefined north-south border, is key to Khartoum because it neighbors Darfur and the disputed oil-producing border region of Abyei border, another possible flashpoint between both sides in the build-up to the South’s secession.

The vote in South Kordofan, which was delayed from a year ago over a census disagreement, was largely peaceful but analysts fear an outbreak of violence when results are announced.

(ST)

7 Comments

  • manyang
    manyang

    South Kordofan polls authority says no way to review vote-counting
    Nubian should remember the Arab colonization which let CDR Yusif Kwei Maki rebel and Joint SPLA/SPLM, why the have forgotten such situation and election somebody needed by ICC for War crime in Dafur.

    Reply
  • Lamija Milaja
    Lamija Milaja

    South Kordofan polls authority says no way to review vote-counting
    It is said “what we sow is what we reap”. SPLM should not cray for the rigging. They did in 2010 elections in south Sudan. It is very unfortunate it happened to Nubians but all the same during Anya Anya Nubians were siding with arabs in north against south.

    Next time if president Kirr and others are not carefully they will be like Mubarak of Egypt, Qaddafi of Libya, Gbagoba of Ivory Cost and the list is still increasing.

    Unless Kirr and his follows listens to the voice of southerns, these accumulated wealth with resources of south Sudanese are world things and they will too leave it like others have left.

    Reply
  • onlysonmabi
    onlysonmabi

    South Kordofan polls authority says no way to review vote-counting
    Mr Lamija you seem to be out of brain,what is the connection between South Kordofan and the Ruling of South Sudan.

    Reply
  • manyang
    manyang

    South Kordofan polls authority says no way to review vote-counting
    you are wrong, Kiir is the one who struggle and other joint Khartoum and said that there is so-call internal peace.

    those are the one taking us back,we needs move other 21 yrs to hand over the governing whom it may concern, do you have any question?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

    Reply
  • Jalaby
    Jalaby

    South Kordofan polls authority says no way to review vote-counting

    It is clear now how SPLM/A is poisioning our political atmosphere and we have to find the real cause of the problem and resolve it from the roots, it is SPLM/A, the real cause of our all diseases in the north and create everyday new problem.

    We have to give them a good lesson in S. Kordofan and make them mind our north issue for good.

    North government has to consider SPLM/A as our strategic enemy and work seriously to remove them completely from the political scene in the south, it is not hard job since the south rely completely on the oil which north controls the process of refining, exporting and therefore financing GoSS treasury and north can block this pipeline and in the same time unify and provide unlimite support to south rebels till GoSS and SPLM/A became part of history.

    It is possible and doable, we have to address the root of the problem,
    we should treat the disease itself, not the symptoms of the disease!
    ,

    Jalaby (Abo Tagia)

    Reply
  • young s.sudan
    young s.sudan

    South Kordofan polls authority says no way to review vote-counting
    how yo gonna movie the splm/A. i think the person wrote this artlect doesn’t know he/she talking about.

    Reply
  • Ito
    Ito

    South Kordofan polls authority says no way to review vote-counting
    Dear members,

    Indeed, the decision taken by the National Election Committee to not give a leeway for the re-counting of the votes is very disturbing, it clearly shows their prior ploy against the SPLM candid CDR, Al Hilu. This is so naive of them (Election Commissioners).

    I disagree with this decision taken by NEC because it is contrary to the election law which states that any unsatisfied opposition party should be given a chance to prove his grievance beyond reasonable doubt and that is what the SPLM have called for, that the voting should be re-counted, second, this decision does not reflect the features of real constitutional democracy which is enshrine in the hard-won comprehensive peace agreement, third, it does not help in alleviating the suffering which is now taking place in southern Kordorfan as Harun is wanted by Icc and no country would want to invest his money to a state headed by a big criminal like Harun.

    Based on the above reasons, I therefore, urge the National Election commission to reverse their decision and subject the result to be properly probe by a neutral committee, results need to be repealed and reviewed amicably.

    Thanks

    Reply
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