Northern Sudan’s ruling NCP shows no interest in post-independent South, Machar
November 5, 2010 (JUBA) – The northern ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has shown no interest in maintaining its party’s presence in the South should the region become independent, says the Vice President of Southern Sudan, Riek Machar.
Machar, who is also the deputy chairman of the southern ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), made the comments during his meeting with former NCP leaders from the south, led by Thomas Bai Malek, who recently defected to the SPLM in Lakes state.
The SPLM would be interested to see the SPLM northern sector maintained as a political party in the North even if the referendum in January results in the independence of the South, Machar said.
The South’s Vice President said he would have expected the NCP to think along the same lines and show interest in the south after independence, but he said this has not been the case.
The current behavior of the NCP, he said, suggests that it has no vision as a political party for its southern leaders and members in the South after referendum in which an independence vote is widely expected.
Machar added that the NCP also seemed to have been reluctant to accept the presence of the SPLM in the North if the South becomes independent.
He stressed the importance of conducting peaceful referenda for Southern Sudan and Abyei as well as the popular consultations for Nuba Mountains on South Kordofan state and Southern Blue Nile.
The Vice President said the two regions, North and South, would continue to need each other even if the South secedes, saying it was important to work towards creating good relations for the future.
The NCP leaders, who have joined the SPLM have said they did so because of a lack of vision inside the NCP and because it has moved away from the peaceful and full implementation of the CPA.
With just over 60 days to go until voting there is much still to be done. Voter registration is due to begin in mid November in South Sudan.
Preparations for the Abyei vote are further behind schedule with some senior NCP figures questioning whether the referendum can go ahead as scheduled. The two parties have been deadlocked over who is allowed to vote in the poll and the formation of the Abyei Referendum Commission.
A report last week from the Rift Valley Institute suggested that unless the commission is formed by mid November it would not be possible to hold the referendum in Abyei on schedule in January.
(ST)