South Sudan: 18 opposition parties consider forming single political party

October 13, 2011 (JUBA) – Leaders from at least 18 opposition parties in newly independent South Sudan are considering forming a single opposition political party capable of challenging the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), an opposition leader said Thursday.

Tong Lual Ayat, the chairman of the United Democratic Party (UDP) said in an interview with Sudan Tribune that consultations to form single party have already begun.

“We are looking at objectives and driving principles of each political party”, he said. Ayat says the parties believe having one strong political party capable challenging the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) is the only way to meet the interests of the people of South Sudan.

“Yes South Sudan is a multiparty state but we need to have at least effective political parties,” said the opposition leader. South Sudan has around 23 registered political parties but none are able to compete with SPLM, the former rebels who have governed South Sudan as an autonomous region since a 2005 peace deal.

As part of the deal South Sudan voted to become independent in January and seceded in July.

“Many of these political parties do not have stand-out or clearly defined manifestos and actually others are just using ‘cut-and-paste’ documents or carbon copies of other manifestos. They do not have clear objectives. Some are parties formed out of the main parties because of internal political differences”, he said.

The opposition leader who accused the ruling party of undermining his party, said “when the multiparty democracy develops the conflicts between parties or their members will cease and political organisation will be addressing national agendas not highlighting their differences”.

He made the statement ahead of a forthcoming consultative meeting of political parties while pointing out that it was high time for the members of political organisations to set clear objectives.

Onyoti Adigo, the leader of South Sudan’s largest opposition party – the SPLM for Democratic Change – in the South Sudan’s national Assembly said his party had already entered into an alliance with 18 political parties but have not yet reached a consensus to forming one political party.

“We are already a strong party”, Adigo told Sudan Tribune on Thursday.

“We have an alliance with other political parties but we welcome merging parties if the leaders agree on the objectives and principles”, he said.

Adigo further said political parties act had not yet passed through parliament but that it was the prerogative of opposition parties to hold such consultations and developing strategies that were beneficial to the nation building.

On the eve of South Sudan’s independence the Adigo was badly beaten by security services.

Kuol Agany Deng, a member of the SPLM agreed that there was no need to have so many political parties in the country. He describing some of them as “briefcase parties”, which had never won a seat in parliament.

“We have seen many south Sudanese politician forming parties in Khartoum and we have seen them wining elections in their constituencies. There are parties without members”, he said.

Deng claimed that only the SPLM had a national agenda and programs aimed at developing the new nation.

“Many political parties do not have members; they just have activists and operate by mobilising masses other than addressing national issues. This is why I believe that many of the political parties will die natural deaths because multiparty is not just a race that starts with many runners but programs.”

In late 2010 ahead of January’s referendum on independence, an all party political conference was held in Juba to unite South Sudan ahead of the vote, which saw an overwhelming vote in favour of partition.

However the process of writing South Sudan’s interim constitution has proved divisive with many opposition parties pulling out of the process, accusing the SPLM of not listening to their views.

Earlier this month the leader of SPLM-DC returned to Juba after self imposed exile, with South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, asking the security services not interfere with the opposition party.

During elections in April last year SPLM-DC complained of intimidation and malpractice. The SPLM one the election with an overwhelming majority. Corruption in South Sudan, which is dominated by the SPLM is a major problem according to the party’s chairman, president Salva Kiir.

(ST)