Sudan’s Referendum Act requires amendment: official

By Julius N. Uma

September 18, 2010 (JUBA) – With just over a hundred days to Sudan’s much-anticipated referendum’s scheduled date. A senior official has suggested of the possibility of having the 2009 Referendum Act amended, citing the short timeframe in which to accomplish several crucial processes.

Enacted in December last year, the South Sudan Referendum Act (SSRA) provides guidelines on how the referendum will be conducted.

Alfred Sebit Lokuji, the Chairperson of Central Equatoria State (CES) Referendum High Committee told participants attending a two-day referendum stakeholders’ meeting in Juba, that a great deal of resources were being directed towards the outcomes, rather than the processes of the referendum, such as voters’ registration, civic education and institutional capacity building.

“If the process to the referendum loses the confidence of the party signatories of the CPA [Comprehensive Peace Agreement], then we are bound to have problems. We need to focus on the referendum processes rather than the outcomes, which appear to be pre-determined,” said Lokuji.

The CPA ended 22 years of civil war between north and south Sudan. One of its stipulations was the right for the southern Sudanese to vote to either form an independent country or to remain united with northern Sudan.

Lokuji further decried the deliberate delays in the voters’ registration exercise, initially slated for July, which are now been earmarked for October.

According to the SSRA, preliminary voter’s registration lists are to be displayed for at least seven days, pending anticipated court objections that may arise. Later on, a second list will be displayed before the final voter’s registration list, to be exhibited 90 days before the actual referendum polling day.

“Looking at the short length of time left and given the fact that voter’s registration has not yet even started, one can easily predict the likely scenarios that may unfold in the run-up to the forthcoming referendum, including the possibility of amending the Referendum Act,” Lokuji warned.

Sudan Tribune has learnt that the CES referendum committee, an entity created by the Southern Sudan Referendum Bureau, still operates without an office, and with no new staff appointments made.

Lorna Sadia, a member of the committee, said they are required by law to form a polling center committee, tasked with the voters’ registration process, balloting and training of personnel.

“We are behind schedule. How do you expect us to operate normally without an established office? Some of these things are impossible to achieve within the time we have,” Sadia told Sudan Tribune.

Asked what the committee proposes as a solution to these challenges, Sadia urged all referendum stakeholders to strive towards bridging the existing information gap, through the exchange of referendum-related ideas.

The Southern Sudan Referendum Taskforce, a body set up by the Government of Southern Sudan, is already preparing people for the referendum and making post-referendum arrangements.

(ST).