Endorse SPLM Presidential Candidate for the Republic

By Dau Reng

April 5, 2010 — I was disappointed by the withdrawer of the people’s movement political party candidate for the Republic of the Sudan from the upcoming election. I do not know the details behind the decision so I will not speculate. Nonetheless, the Sudanese National Consensus, an alliance of opposition political parties against the ruling regime of the National Congress Party should consider withdrawing their candidates for the Republic of Sudan and endorse the return and the presidential campaign of the people’s movement candidate, Yasir Arman instate of boycotting the elections.

I advocated for formation of an alliance by all opposition parties so as to forge a formidable campaign that would take the country back in this elections through the ballot box in the first round and not the second. The former president of Uganda, Idi Armin puts it best that if the referee is against you in a boxing match the only way to win is by a knockout. In deed, knockout is what is needed in this election to once and for all open the door of democratic transform of the Sudan by replacing the current regime of the NCP with that of the people’s movement, SPLM. I know there are many Southern Sudanese who are thinking that if Mr. Arman wins the election then unity would be forced on us. I thought about this possibly but the road to independent South Sudan is not conditional at this point. Plus, only you and me will determine our fate in the referendum through out individual ballots. Withdrawal of Mr. Arman is not a win-win situation to me but rather a lost.

I supported a formation of a election alliance in the context that the other opposition parties will follow the leadership provided by the people’s movement political party, the SPLM. This alliance was not to be based on ideology because we do not agree on much particularly with most of the Northern based political parties. I quite frankly don’t like most of these parties ideological stand, vision if any and objectives. The people’s movement initiative that brought about the gathering of all willing opposition parties of both Southern and Northern based was good. However, I was somewhat disillusion by their communiqué following that initial meeting because it appears as if the Northern opposition parties just want to get a lift/credibility at the expense of the SPLM and the marginalized masses by extension.

By now all opposition parties should have already endorse SPLM presidential candidate for some of the following reasons beside Mr. Armin’s authenticity as an individual and his genuine wish to transform the government of Sudan to work for the people rather than people working for the government:

First, the opposition should endorse Yasir Arman because only SPLM can bring a lasting democratic change to the whole Sudan. By bullet the people’s movement fought various dictatorial regimes in Sudan to bring about democratic change of the country. It is not a secret that almost all of the Northern based opposition parties would not have had the current chance to participate in an election of this kind without the SPLM. It would probably the last election that is as close to free and fair that most of these old leaders of these opposition parities will ever see in their life time. These opposition parties have been in operation since the Junta, al Bashir came to power by force in 1989 and they have done nothing to change the laws that they currently want changed overnight. This is part of why Southern Sudanese don’t understand you people in the North and yet you are quick to call for death to Israel when you can’t call death on anything that takes courage in your backyard. Many Southerners rather not live then live on their knees as they beg for grace from anybody.

Second, only the SPLM has the real support of the masses that can face any election rigging that will occur (mass rigging). It is true that a pen can not fight a gun as “they” say in Africa (statement is only true in a battle, a pen always wins in a war). None of the Northern opposition parties have the most priceless gun, masses behind them like the SPLM because they are based on religious and tribal sects. Even if the election was to be stolen in front of their faces they would neither have the voice nor the means to do anything about it (the only thing they can hope for is intervention of the ICC!). The SPLM is therefore the only political force that has the credibility to bring about a real democratic change in the Sudan. Thereby making Mr. Arman the right person to lead us into the gates of democratic transformation at this time. I am wishfully thinking that the decision to withdraw Yasir will be reversed. There are many hopes placed in the candidacy of this patriot. I hope there is no deal that resulted in his withdrawal with the NCP that the public do not know. Any deal done behind closed door can never last. Never negotiate with yourself.

Third, the Darfur situation can only be amicably settled by the SPLM. Assuming that the opposition parties call for solution to Darfur war is genuine and not political rhetoric than they should be ready to put their thirst for power behind finding solution to this Darfur problem by allowing the SPLM to lead the country. I know by experience that Southerner Sudanese want the people of Darfur to be free and become an integral part of the greater Sudan rather than a resource of the center. In fact we, Southern Sudanese used a lot of our political capital that we will need greatly on our independence day to advocate for the people in Darfur. If not for Southerners in the Diaspora to personalized the Darfur mass murder campaign then the media would have not been as obsessed with the Darfur to the point of over shadowing the greatest tragedy in the Sudan, the millions people murdered in South Sudan during the Sudan civil war. SPLM will be the genuine seeker of peace in Darfur.

Forth, the SPLM will give the opposition a chance to become formidable again in a true multiple party democratic system. It may sound naïve but he SPLM has made commendable transformation from a gorilla armed forced into a civil political movement in just four years in South Sudan in particular and the whole of Sudan in general. The current democratic transformation by the SPLM is huge given that over 90 percent of Southern Sudanese are illiterate. The SPLM has not exploited our people’s illiteracy and ignorance by using scare tactics that commonly work very well when persuading under educated population (70 virgins in heaven for killing one’s countrymen!). The Northern based opposition political parties’ future lies in the people’s movement political party than in any other political movement currently in the Sudan.

Fifth, only the SPLM will provide the smoothes separation of Sudan after the plebiscite of 2011 for South Sudan and Abyei. I understand that most of the opposition do not like the idea of separation of South Sudan from the North but separation of South Sudan is the reality that my leading grandfathers in the northern opposition parties must come to term with. I hope we can all come to terms with this fact so that we can have a better post referendum arrangement. By the way, don’t you find it interesting that the same people calling for immediate demarcation of the North-South border are the ones publicly against independence of South Sudan? I will not indulged further in this but trust me separation of South Sudan will be the greatest thing to ever happen to Sudan since the hand over of power by the European colonist government to the pseudo Arab domestic colonist regime.

In closing, I would like to re-irritate that calling for re-instatement of the people’s movement political party candidate for president of the Republic of Sudan, Yasir Arman is the right thing to do at the late hour. The failure of the opposition parties call for Mr. Arman’s return to campaign to endorse him and their failure to withdraw their candidates for the president of the Republic if an when Mr. Arman returns will be a betrayal of their own claimed cause. This is important so that the election can be won by Mr. Arman by a knockout in the first round of balloting. I still believe that Mr. Arman can win without the opposition parties support by an overwhelming majority but this might require a second round of elections which I do not favor. But if that is want it will take then be it. Good luck in the elections dear candidates, I hope you, the opposition parties with candidates running a presidential candidate campaign and or have not endorsed SPLM’s candidate for the Republic to find the courage to say “power to the people” and give-up your quest for immediate power so that the people of Sudan can take their government back from the Junta, Al Bashir.

One last comment to my fellow brothers and sisters of South Sudan; please always remember that all politic is local. Getting your favorite president or what have you who is not answerable to you (the people) at the local level will change nothing if you do not choose the right people to administer your Buma, Payam, County and State level governments. May the God of our ancestors bless South Sudan and the entire country as we mark this important benchmark in our history.

Dau Reng is a concerned Sudanese currently in the USA; [email protected]