USSP praises successful referendum, calls for democratic South Sudan

15th January 2011.

On this last day of South Sudan Referendum 2011, United South Sudan Party (USSP) would like to congratulate the people of South Sudan worldwide and the Referendum Commission for having conducted the referendum successfully. The South Sudan referendum is a culmination of over a hundred years of struggle, suffering and sacrifice. Many thanks also to our fallen heroes and heroines who gave up their lives for this Nobel cause.

USSP, as a party, is very pleased with what has unfolded because that is what USSP has all along campaigned for relentlessly – the Independence of South Sudan. We are profoundly happy for the Democratic way in which the voting was carried out. This is precisely what USSP advocated for – ballots not bullets.

We are also very pleased that ALL South Sudan political parties were unified in their determination to have the whole process run peaceful.

The referendum is about the future. From now on, under democracy, no political party shall be allowed to intimidate other parties.

The spirit of the South Sudan dialogue, which unified the people of South Sudan to conclude this historical event peacefully, must continue to govern us into the coming stages of our nation building.

From day one of its inception, United South Sudan Party (USSP), has advocated and worked for the unity of the people of South Sudan. We continue to believe that a peaceful and democratic South Sudan can only come about through the unity of its people as suggested in the party’s name.

We know that the official results of the voting will not be announced until next month, but as the whole world can see, that hasn’t stopped the nearly 4 million Southerners from celebrating the independence they believe they are assured to attain.

We want to remind our compatriots that south-south reconciliation process can only be realised through a strong and genuine move towards democracy.

This, no doubt, requires a complete commitment on the part of the present ruling party, the SPLM, to implementing the principles adopted at the All South Sudan Political Parties Conference held in Juba in October 2010.

Any irresponsible move towards autocracy, domination, discrimination and violation of human rights would be a downright recipe for catastrophe. Such an event would, for sure, empty the independence of its contents and must be avoided by all means. As South Sudanese, we must all work together to build a nation where there would be no place for second class citizenry.

At this juncture, we would like to thank the US Administration, IGAD, the AU, the EU, the UN, the CPA troika and the entire international community for all that they have done to see the full implementation of the CPA through. We are aware that the referendum exercise for the secession of Southern Sudan has been conducted in a free, fair and transparent atmosphere. Therefore, we urge the International Community to immediately recognize the result of the referendum and the imminent independence of South Sudan.

Although the South Sudan referendum is now successfully over, we would like to remind the International Community to press the Government of Khartoum for an immediate implementation of the Abyei Referendum and the Popular Consultations for Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile regions as stipulated in the CPA.

Dr. Justin Ambago Ramba
Secretary General