Machar urges South Sudan governors to play greater role in referendum process

September 11, 2010 (JUBA) – The Vice President of the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), Riek Machar Teny, has urged the governors of the ten states of the region to prepare their respective state administrations and to play a greater role in the ongoing referendum process as the vote date of 9 January 2011 draws close.

The scheduled date of the plebiscite, in which southern Sudanese will vote for either independence for the region or unity with the north, is less than four months away. Machar urged the state governors to prepare the groundwork for the referendum exercise during the meeting of the Southern Sudan referendum taskforce, to which all the state governors were summoned on Thursday.

He explained to the governors that most of the referendum education will be carried out by the state governments and civil society organizations.

The meeting was also attended by a number of GoSS ministers, who are members of the taskforce, as well as legal experts from the Oversight Committee.

The budget for the taskforce and its allocation to the state governments were discussed. The Vice President, who chairs the forum, explained his government’s obligation to offer technical assistance to the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission/Bureau in preparation for the referendum, as stipulated in the referendum law.

The attendees were briefed on the ongoing work plan and proposed coordination with the state governments by the Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Development, John Luk Jok, who is also the chairperson of Sub-committee One, which holds responsibility for the process of the referendum.

The taskforce was also briefed by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, James Kok Ruei, on his ministry’s plan to repatriate the Southern Sudanese from the northern states. The minister said that unlike in the past, the repatriation would be done in close coordination with the ten state governments.

State governors cited insecurity and lack of mobility in the states as among the most challenging areas in the referendum process. However, they expressed their readiness and commitment to effectively carrying out their functions in the states.

The referendum process is two months behind schedule, prompting officials in the region to increase their efforts. For instance, the exercise of voter registration was initially scheduled to take place from 9 July 2010, but has been delayed up to this point due to impasses, such as the failure to appoint a Secretary General of the Referendum Commission, which is a prerequisite for other processes that would, in turn, lead to registration.

(ST)