Will there be free and fair elections under the SPLM?
By Ding Yian Gai
November 2, 2009 — Competitive elections are integral characteristics of democracy. Ideally, elections facilitate the peaceful transfer of political power and make those who govern accountable to the electorate. Elections are symbolic empowerment of the people over their leaders and a communication channel between them at the same time.
In fact, the right to elections has been enshrined in international law. Most importantly elections have become part of the international peace-building strategy, which strongly links peace to democratic development.
Most internationally sponsored peace agreements nowadays stipulate the holding of free and fair elections after the interim period. Therefore, in the case of the CPA Article 1.8.3 stipulates that elections shall be conducted at all levels of the Sudan at the end of third year. Of course the two partners could not meet to this dateline for reasons best known to them. They are now scheduled for April 2009.
But the question to ask is: will elections in the South under the SPLM administration be free and fair? This million-dollar question rings in the mind of every southerner today. Before answering this question I would like to inform my readers that the SPLM is currently caught between two difficult positions: either to boycott elections or to participate. With poor performance in the last four years and marred by endemic corruption and insecurity in the south, the SPLM fears loosing the elections. On the other hand, boycotting elections would mean loosing America’s support. I will return to these issues later. Now let me go back our question. Will the elections be free and fair under the SPLM-controlled GOSS?
Of course elections under the SPLM-controlled GOSS can not be expected to be free and fair for very obvious reasons. First, the SPLM has been in power since 2005 and all this time has amassed considerable funds whether legally or illegally. These will be used to buy votes during the elections thereby creating an unfair competitive advantage over other political parties. There can only be fair competition among the parties if Article 69 of the National Elections Law 2009 is implemented. This will require that all officials, constitutional post holders included, resign before declaring their candidatures.
My second fear is that the SPLM may use violence and intimidation in its desperate attempts to win elections. Over the years during the liberation war violence has pervaded individual, social and political relations and has been used by the SPLM as a legitimate mode of political behaviour. Even long after the CPA the SPLM did not hesitate to use violence against its adversaries. Examples abound: the murder of NCP operative in Yambio, fatal attack on Dr. Lam bodyguards on Anakdiar-Malakal road during SPLM congresses and recently in Khartoum, the attack by SPLM students at a rally organised by SPLM-DC supporters. All these incidents are indicative that the SPLM is politically intolerant and although it has been calling for democratic transformation, it hardly implements it. Thus it is feared that political and civil liberties such as freedom of speech and freedom of movement may be restricted by the SPLM during the campaign and polling. Even before elections these fundamental rights and freedoms used to be denied by SPLM state governors, commissioners and SPLA commanders.
My third fear revolves around the “competitiveness” of the elections. The competitiveness nature of elections may aggravate existing social conflict and cleavages particularly the election of the president of GOSS and governors where different tribes are expected to compete. In competitive elections, it is sometimes true that groups that have had a chance to govern may run the risk of losing power. If this happens, incumbents may not take this lightly and therefore may mobilise their supporters in an attempt to influence the electoral process and outcome through threats, intimidation, rigging and violence.
The probability of this occurring in the coming elections is increased by the fact that the majority of the officials who will manage the elections and command those forces securing elections hail from same tribe and party. But the most obvious thing that the SPLM will do, if it has not done it already, is how to ensure that the upcoming elections are rigged in its favour. For the last five years the SPLM has proven that it has no experience and expertise to manage public affairs, no moral turpitude to keep public money, no nationalist sentiments to unite our people and no strategic wisdom to lead our people to the declared objectives.
Last but not least, the fact is that for twenty six good years the SPLM has been running its affairs by selection and not election. For the SPLM leaders elections are like a black hole in the universe which scientists describe as void and scary. The SPLM does not and will not accept its failures and will therefore employ all its wits and whims at its disposal to rig the elections come rain or shine.
Eng. Ding Yian Gai is an expert working in one of the GoSS Ministries and could be reached at [email protected]
thieleling
Will there be free and fair elections under the SPLM?
Mr. Ding Gai,
There would never be a peaceful democratic political transfer of power under Salva Kiir’s dictatorship in south sudan. The rise of massive violence during this pre-election period in south sudan is testament to Kiir’s failed dictatorial leadership. Peace after election is simply a joke. Instead; there will be massive post-election violence if no serious political assassinations before the election.
Anger over the corruption scandals ($ 2.7 billions recent & more) and Kiir’s ineffectiveness could lead to a military coup in south sudan. This is the only way to give a voice to the poor civilians being killed everyday by their own gov’t.
Thanks
Kur
Will there be free and fair elections under the SPLM?
Sir,
You’re entiled to say whatever you want, but you have a misguided opinion, one that reflects nave position. Your suggestion that the electoral process is controlled by the officials belonging to one tribe is nonsense. The ten states of South Sudan cannot be under one tribe at any particular time. No ideal situation will support what you’re saying. The right question we need to ask is that will elections under the watch of the NIF be free and fair? We need to ask this question because the NIF has no interest in democratic transformation of Sudan, but the SPLM is the only political force working to foster freedom and democracy. Hence, you have just wasted your time and energy writing something that does not worth the page on which it is written.
Kur
Oduck Bol
Will there be free and fair elections under the SPLM?
Move out in south or get yourself a gun and be ready for the action day. Any house that built from wrong tools and on wrong place will clap quickly. You see now everybody has doubt on system of south Sudan.I wounder some time people want to lead and at the same time they carry a huge tribalism and haterate in their hearts. Those tow will not go together.
Akol Liai Mager
Will there be free and fair elections under the SPLM?
Uh-Humm, “Eng. Ding Yian Gai is an expert working in one of the GOSS Ministries”. This description I have just quoted above is a problem by itself.
But let me correct one thing from my Anonymous Article writer. (A) Lam Akol was attacked by Cattle raiders and not SPLM nor Dinka-SPLA if there is anything existed in the South by this name Dinka-SPLA. (B) Then, Lam Akol was a leading SPLM member. Or is it because Lam Akol is always a “non-SPLM leader” when things go to the directions of his dislike, and “him” when things go his interest? Lam once said; “I am not a foreign minister of the SPLM or South, SPLM did not qualified me to be a minister in the GoNU.” I don’t want to say more about this because it has been argued and exhausted by Dandara Ali Dandara by the time it came to the surface.
Well, Lam Akol may be right on the first part of his statement, but the fact is that SPLM is the one who was given foreign ministry porfolio following CPA Power division, and SPLM assigned him to that position, and not the opposite.
Dear, Anonymou engineer, if you are not lam Akol yourself, you have discredited and imprisoned yourself in the prison of fear simply because your motivation is spying and spiers do not necessary need to tell truth since telling truth will uncover their identities. So, your mistakes here are more about wasting readers time than your lies occuying a space on this web.
Just to ask you some questions, why did you fail to see or ask NIF leaders; especially Al-Bashir to step down from his positions as President and Cief of the Northern Army after being decleared NIF Presidential Candidate while you are able to see that in the SPLM? Or do you think northern Sudan is not part of your Sudan any more? Are you afraid of telling this to NIF leaders, or are eager for blackmailing SPLM because you are not made a minister, or what are your prblems exactly?
Please, can I just give you some tips and feel free to use or reject them as you want? Read commentaries in Arabic Racist newspaper of Ra’ay NIF the so-called ra’yaam, especially those written by Ra’shid Abdelrahim, Dhia al-deen Balal and their racist master-minded Ismail Al-Attabani. Read commentaries written by Mostafa Siri and Sidgi Kaballo in Sudanile commentaries site.
After reading those commentaries you may discover what a writer does to build their own world attractive to their readers. Despite Attabani, Ra’shid and Dhia-Al-deen eager to maliciously attack SPLM, GOSS and Southerners, I have an interest to read their rubbish because what the enemy say can be beneficial sometimes.
I pologise if I used some words that might have hurt because I do not meant to hurt, I simply meant to argue things that are not beneficial to the case between the so-called “Awallad Al Belled” on one hand, and African Sudanese on the other.