Amum accepts to resign if independent candidates drop off race

By Ngor Arol Garang

February 13, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — Pagan Amum, SPLM Secretary General, has said recognizing and accepting voices calling on him to consider resignation from his post if independent candidates drop off intentions to contest upcoming April elections in favor of official nominees.

“I respect voices of the majority members of the SPLM and will not have problem stepping down from my position if this is what they think as solution,” he said. He also expressed his readiness to resign if independent candidates stop from contesting against SPLM runners.

“I am ready to resign if they are ready to stop from contesting independently and with assurances of having abandoned ideas that divides our party,” he adds.

Amum suffers calls for his resignation from the position of being secretary general of the by southern intellectuals with many making rough and unpleasant comments in most public forums saying he is the architect of SPLM candidate selection process and caused of mess.

A senior member of the SPLM national Liberation Council who declined to be named said the bylaws that governed the procedures and processes that led to nominations were bogus and unnecessary, especially after national convention of 2007/2008.

“SPLM Political Bureau should have adopted conventional political standards to facilitate democratic competition within the Party. Such standards are customarily known as party primaries prior to deciding constituent leadership,” the official commented adding these primaries could have started from Boma basic constituency unit upwards.

“It is only through these internationally provided criteria that fair competition could be maintained and promoted within the SPLM,” he stressed saying in such a way, the SPLM could have avoided this mess or rather a scheme of a group (secretariat) in the SPLM determined to get rid of those they assumed to be their opponents or political enemies.

“Such a behavior or divisive attitude, could be identified as a work of a minority clique in a given democratic or dictatorship party/organization,” the official added.

He continued to say the SPLM, which is our vehicle and our instrument/tool of our liberation, should not be left in the hands of those whose intentions seem divisive and destructive to the very life of the party. Can this mess be cleaned up now? No. It is now too late.”

“Today is the last day for withdrawal of any candidate;” he said adding that, as things are today, none of the candidates contesting for either gubernatorial or parliamentary seat is not responding to the Political Bureau’s initiative to persuade all or few of them.

“This phase is hopeless. The SPLM has failed or is failing to convince political rebels against their decision. What are the options available for now,” he posed.

The options are available, the official said. First is a decision which could be grounded on wisdom and knowledge to keep the Party together. Second is to float an unwise decision by dismissing the over347 SPLM members who have decided to contest as independent candidates for April 2010 elections,” he explained.

According to him, he suggested that since the Secretary General, Pagan Amuom acknowledges that ‘irregularities’ have been committed by his secretariats, a fair solution must be found to the injustice.

“One way is to request the NEC, along with other political parties, to extend the nominations schedule in order to save the SPLM votes that are going to be wasted as a result of the mess. This suggestion may save the Party, if it were accepted by the NEC,” he said.

“The second option is to dismiss the 347 independent candidates from the SPLM” but was quick to say such a decision could be very unpopular because an accepted mistake cannot be resolved by adding another mistake.

Some members of the Political Bureau may go with suggestion being now floated by H.E. Riek Machan. Dr. Riek suggesting that the SPLM allows the independents to contest allowed back to the Party after elections, successful or unsuccessful. “If such a proposal is adopted, it will be unprecedented,” he commented.

However, another commentator further argued that no political party in the world that had ever sponsored two candidates in a single constituency. It is politically clumsy and therefore destructive to the creditability of the SPLM.

Since it is now too late to catch up with nominations schedule, even to catch up with final withdrawal of candidates, the best for SPLM is to sleep on its mess. Any solutions now, such as withdrawal or dismissals, cannot be effective.

“In my honest opinion, the SPLM Political Bureau should shut up and condone their mistakes for better future of the Party,” he commented.

However participant observed that way to go, Since the mistake of the PB may introduce an internal democratic uprising and rebellion within the SPLM, the solution to these problems is not only to admit the mistake as SG has already done but to come up with a solution that would rectify the procedural injustices erred by the PB so as to preserve the integrity of this body.

Another option being acceptance to allow independent candidates run election with understanding that, in places where the PB is satisfied that there were “irregularities” as Pagan Amum admitted, the independent candidates should be allowed to run.

Similarly and in the contrary, candidates from areas where “irregularities” did not take place should be persuaded to reconsider their positions if they don’t have valid concerns compare to those independents using democratic and due process arguments.

(ST)