Prisoners in Sudan’s Rumbek will cast their votes

By Manyang Mayom

April 9, 2010 (RUMBEK) — The prisoners who registered to vote while
in prison in Rumbek Central Prison will be allowed to cast their
ballots in the forthcoming elections while those who had registered to
vote elsewhere before being incarcerated will miss out.

Gabriel Ciek is the leader of Lakes State High Elections Committee. He
told reporters that the prisoners will cast their votes inside the
prison walls, adding that those who did not register at the prison
polling station will not vote because they will not be allowed to
leave the prison.

Earlier, Elijah Majak, the director of Rumbek Central Prison, said
that he was waiting for directives from the National Elections
Committee about the participation of the inmates in the elections
scheduled in two days time.

Mr. Majak said that all the prisoners are eligible voters. Rumbek
Central prison has some 400 inmates. Among them are five women.

Voters who turned up at a mock elections event in Rumbek’s Freedom
Square on Thursday afternoon appreciated the event saying it helped
them see and know what to do during the real elections. Isaac Macuor
Majak said that the mock election has motivated him to take part in
the real elections, saying he will encourage all those close to him to
turn up and cast their ballots. He added that it is his hope that the
person he will vote for will bring about real freedom in Lakes State.

Speaking at the mock election event on Thursday, the Lakes state
caretaker Governor, Telar Ring Deng, assured voters of security,
insisting that only the authorized security personnel drawn from
Auxiliary Police Force will be allowed to carry firearms at the
polling stations.

He warned that any other person spotted with a firearm will face the
full force of the law.

Ms Mary Mathon Dabai, an elections officer for Matangai Constituency,
said that security of voters is of paramount importance, adding that
she expects the elections to be successful.

Over one thousand police will be deployed over the 387 polling
stations in Lakes State with an auxiliary force on standby. The
National Elections Commission requested the governor not to involve
the army during the polls.

Lakes State has had repeated cases of armed conflict between the Sudan
People’s Liberation Army and the civilian population. Disarmament of
civilians was initiated before the election with the intention of
ridding arms from the hands of the civilian population.

(ST)