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Sudan Tribune

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Sudan’s SSRC working on response to legal challenge before constitutional court

December 20, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The South Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) said on Monday that it has received a formal notification from the Constitutional Court regarding two legal challenges filed before it that raised fears of a delay to the key vote that is due to take place in less than a month.

constitutional court as part of their legal bid to halt a referendum on southern Sudanese independence, in Khartoum December 12, 2010 (Reuters)
constitutional court as part of their legal bid to halt a referendum on southern Sudanese independence, in Khartoum December 12, 2010 (Reuters)
Sudan official news agency (SUNA) carried a statement attributed to the SSRC spokesperson George Makeir Benjamin saying that one of the two motions challenging the voter registration process was dismissed by the Constitutional Court.

However, the judges asked SSRC to file a response to the other motion no later than Sunday December 26th. Omar Al-Farouk Shamina and Al-Hassan Ahmed Saleh were assigned by the referendum commission to conduct the necessary legal research and prepare the response, the SSRC said.

The SSRC chief Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil downplayed the case against his commission suggesting it has no legal merits.

“From what I have seen so far there is absolutely no substance to these petitions. Some are ridiculous. One of them said that the CPA was unconstitutional,” he told Reuters today, referring to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that set up Sudan’s interim constitution and promised the referendum.

A handful of legal challenges were made against the SSRC and the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) alleging violations to the voter registration process for eligible Southerners.

Among the arguments put forward by the group that the referendum law stipulates that registering the voters and finalizing the lists should have been completed three months prior to the vote. Because the Sudanese national assembly has not passed any amendments to the current law and thus the voter registration process should be deemed unconstitutional.

Three weeks of voter registration for the referendum ended this month, with more than three million people signing up to vote in the south, electoral officials said.

The Muslim north and mostly Christian and animist south agreed in 2005 to hold the referendum as part of the peace accord that ended a 22-year civil war in Sudan, Africa’s largest country. The people of south Sudan must choose between secession and staying united with the north.

(ST)

11 Comments

  • Anyang
    Anyang

    Sudan’s SSRC working on response to legal challenge before constitutional court
    Hell with you guys!! Be crystally informs that,all you are doing is absolutely a wastes and will not bear fruit at all.

    Reply
  • Pro-independence
    Pro-independence

    Sudan’s SSRC working on response to legal challenge before constitutional court
    Wise men and women do not go for a clash that they will without any single doubt be trounced.
    Those timid and ill-bred South Sudanese trial lawyers who betray their nation for cash will not see any bit of success. Perhaps they best understand at the back of their pitiable minds that Bashir and NCP will withdraw some cash from the 9 bn dollars he has in foreign banks.
    Let the South Sudanese not engage them selves in any form of trepidation. We are already a nation. Whether they like it or not. Who knows, they might even vote for separation given the chance. The CPA has provided evidence that South Sudanese of the 21st Century are the most brainy Sudanese. Let us vote for SEPARATION…

    Reply
  • saban John
    saban John

    Sudan’s SSRC working on response to legal challenge before constitutional court
    Dear brothers and sisters,
    First I would like to pass my sincere condolences to our fallen soldiers. It is very unfortunate to hear such a painful news. Why southerners are still killing one another,why we don’t learn from the past.

    My message to those preaching tribalism, I want to say that it is wrong. We should not bring Dr. Riek into situation. He is innocent in this case. I am not a Nuer but I know for sure that Nuer are better than the Dinka, that is reality. You keep saying Nuer are tribalist, that maybe there but is not too much like the one of Dinka. When you look at the history of Anya nya one and two you will notice that there was a fair representation. Anya nya, Aggrey Jaden as leader, Phillip Pedak, vice, they are from different tribes. Anya nya Two the same thing.

    When you look Spla, the first is John Garang, Kerubino, William. Why all are dinka in the first and second if you are not tribalist? how many tribes are in the south. Even after william Nyuon is Salva, arok thon arok, this are all Dinkas.

    You rape girls and women by force infront of their parents. what is this? how can you do that to your fellow southerners? aren’t this the people you are suppose to liberate? I wonder. I thought you guys stop, but still i called back home every week and hear that the Dinka rape a girl or if a girl does not want to marry them, they kill like what happen some few months ago where 11 family members from equatoria were killed innocent. And the girl was not refuse to marry him but the father said let her first finish her last year of school. The problem of Dinka is that they support each other no matter what. they don’t correct each other. This act will later on bring serious war if itis not stopped.

    I am a not tribalist, I have friends from Dinka, Nuer,equatoria and other tribes and I tell any of them directly about this things and they admit that it is wrong. Let us start to love one another and see each other as south sudanese not as a shilluk, a Bari, a Nuer a Dinka or a Latuka and so on.

    Anyways, I condemned those who try to sue the SSRC. South Sudan will go no matter what, whether with peace or with bullets. Please SSRC staff, Never listen to the accusers, they are losers.

    May God bless all and Merry Christmas

    Reply
  • James Garang
    James Garang

    Sudan’s SSRC working on response to legal challenge before constitutional court
    Saban. you are a old person who have experiences but my surprise on your statement is this why you bring different case on this line? because I see we are talking about referendum and now you are appear with tribalism case.
    So now I realize your need but is not the right place to be discuss. Thank
    But now I return to the case of referendum. The referendum was agree to be done on time in 2005 agreement and we are stay in all these six years together with those gangs layers. my question is this. what they are doing in all these six years without setting the a suitable law that they want and pass? why they stay quite in all these time and when they see referendum is goingon well. they are come up with nonsense law. so we Southerners we will not listen those nonsense ideas

    Reply
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