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Sudan Tribune

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Unity state leads Sudan’s voter registration turnout

By James Gatdet Dak

November 30, 2009 (JUBA) – Sudan’s Unity state ranks first among the country’s 25 states during the ongoing turnout for voter registration, the National Elections Commission (NEC) has announced.

Fishing camp on the outskirts Thar Jath oil facility, Unity State on Nov 11, 2008 (photo Tim Mackulka – UNMIS)
Fishing camp on the outskirts Thar Jath oil facility, Unity State on Nov 11, 2008 (photo Tim Mackulka – UNMIS)
The Sudanese electoral board has also announced that it has so far registered more than 11 million voters in the 15 Northern states and 2.6 million voters in the 10 Southern states.

There are people who registered in the electoral lists in the Unity State, the NEC said.

The announced finding by the NEC headquarters in Khartoum came after 30 days assessment in the success of the voter registration which started on the 1st of November and was initially scheduled to end on Monday, November 30, but extended for another 7 days until December 7.

Western Bahr el Ghazal state, another Southern state, is named in the second position while Kassala state in the North ranks in the third position.

Khartoum state, the seat of the national government, is said to be in the fourth position, followed in the fifth position by Central Equatoria state, the seat of the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan.

The states in which the registration turnout has failed and ranked the least are Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria.

NEC is the national body established by law to oversee the process and conduct of the upcoming elections in 2010.

Meanwhile political leaders in the South have been touring states urging eligible voters to turnout and register during the next 7 days.

The Government of Southern Sudan’s Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, has visited both Unity and Warrap states campaigning for voter registration turnout.

He earlier registered his name in Bentiu, the capital of Unity state, on Friday.

During his visit to Warrap state over the weekend, Machar urged the citizens in the state to register all their eligible voters for the upcoming 2010 general elections.

He made the remarks in a public rally during his two days visit to the state which ended on Sunday.

He explained that it is the conduct of elections that would make the democratic transformation achievable in the country.

The Vice President has returned to Bentiu and is expected to visit Yambio, the capital of Western Equatoria state on Tuesday for the same voter registration campaign.

Sudan is scheduled to hold post-war general elections in April 2010 in accordance with the North-South peace deal signed in 2005.

The conduct of the elections is seen as crucial step in the process for democratic transformation in the country prior to 2011 referendum on Southern Sudan independence.

(ST)

43 Comments

  • Ajongtar
    Ajongtar

    Unity state leads Sudan’s voter registration turnout
    That is a great news.

    Keep on going for the registrations.

    Reply
  • Pee-Funk
    Pee-Funk

    Unity state leads Sudan’s voter registration turnout
    awesome! good work Unity State keep registration every voter you guys can get because coming election will be our voice will be heard because this is imazing it is the first time in Sudan history to make registration in southern Sudan. this is the time for change for the whole Sudan.

    by: Mr. P-Funk

    Reply
  • Gatwech
    Gatwech

    Unity state leads Sudan’s voter registration turnout
    Bravo Unity state,

    You are the heart of democratic change in Sudan. You understand democracy as the best tool to change bad leaders, either governors or presidents.

    Why is Jonglei the worst in registration? Well, the chairman of elections in Jonglei has registered only Dinka community, leaving the largest Nuer community and Murle plus Anyuak unregistered.

    This is to make sure that only Bor-Dinka will have the registration slips and vote in another Dinka unchallenged. Will there be elections in Jonglei state really?

    Again, bravo Unity state, the democratic people in Sudan. Keep on leading Sudan to democracy!

    Reply
  • Tap Kuic
    Tap Kuic

    Unity state leads Sudan’s voter registration turnout
    Great new to hear that Unity State is leading in voter registration. Thanks you people of Unity State well done of turn out Bravo!

    Reply
  • maumau
    maumau

    Unity state leads Sudan’s voter registration turnout
    Poor roads linking some of our villages especially Eastern Equatoria make them inaccesible for regitration. This has resulted in low voter registration turnout. You should not be surprice to hear that the vast majority of people live in rural areas just because they want to cultivate and grow their own food. This is why we always quest GoSS to construct or reconstruct road network linking towns to town, towns to villages and villages to villages to enhance government undertakings like voter registration, civic education, business, emergency rescue etc.

    Reply
  • Oduck Bol
    Oduck Bol

    Unity state leads Sudan’s voter registration turnout
    It means that in 10 states of south registered 31% if its population,if we simply divide 2.6 million by 8.3 million which is its population according to census. That looks not enough numbers of people who have registered.

    Those who are good at looting,you should be good at mobilizing people too.

    Reply
  • Gatwech
    Gatwech

    Unity state leads Sudan’s voter registration turnout
    Kiir why in Juba?

    Are you happy that Kiir registered in Juba? I thought you as his fans should start to mourn about this big mistake by Kiir. Politicians even in US where you live wisely cast their votes in their constituencies.

    Kiir is showing to the people of South Sudan that he has been disowned in Warrap state and is no more popular in his own constituency. What if he loses the office in Juba, where will he go? His constituency in Warrap will deny him by law because he has not registered there. They cannot even allow him to vote in Warrap state even if circumstances force him to move there before elections.

    Secondly, if he registered in his constituency, he can also vote there and cast his vote for the governor of the state, commissioner of county, and MPs of the constuency for Khartoum parliament, Juba parliament and state parliament. Salva Kiir has lost all those chances.

    James Wani Igga was said to have registered in Lobonok, his constituency. Dr. Samson Kwaje registered in his Wonduruba payam where he was ambushed. Rebecca Nyandeng registered in Twic East county, etc. etc. And it doesn’t prevent any of them from running the position of presidency. May be Salva Kiir did not understand it.

    He should have given his details to Dr. Riek Machar who went to Warrap to register his name and bring to him his registration slip in Juba.

    Reply
  • Khent
    Khent

    Unity state leads Sudan’s voter registration turnout
    Gatwech:

    Your pathetic protestation is a poor substitute for your inability- to present -any- evidence for -anything.-

    Is your statement meant to pre-empt us from asking for substantiation, or give you an excuse for not presenting any?

    Is it also an objective conclusion based on evidence, or a denial of the evidence for essentially spurious rationale?

    We’re waiting……

    Most of the SPLA’s recruits came from Aweil, Gogrial, Abyei and Tonj. When made to face this fact, you then resort to troll noises- anything to take us away from the facts you won’t confront…and without your answers to these facts presented, your ideology can never make sense.

    Meaning you are objecting to what is said, and yet you can think of no factual basis for objecting. So far your reply to me is devoid of substance.

    The more excuses you make, the more it becomes clear to all that your excuses are phony, and explain nothing other than your inability to come to grips with reality.

    The ’deadly game’ was enabled by the sordid killing of recruits coming from Bahr al-Ghazel.

    As you may know, to reach the SPLA training camps in Ethiopia, the recruits had to pass through eastern Upper Nile, a territory that was under the control of Anya-Nya II.

    Anya-Nya II (your ’movement’) perpetrated wanton killings throughout the first five years of the armed struggle. The recruits were killed in cold blood by Anya-Nya II, on discovering that they were intending to join the SPLA.

    In 1983, before the death of Samuel Gai Tut in 1984, many innocent recruits became victims of torture, long detention or possibbly death unless they could prove beyond reasonable doubt, that they did not intend on joining Garang’s SPLA.

    The biggest group that fell into this abyss of death, was the Ngok Dinka of Abyei, led by sergeant Bagat Agwek Acaak. Bagat was a sergeant from the first infantry division.

    As he passed through eastern Upper Nile, Samuel Gai Tut’s group fell upon them killing nearly two thirds of the recruits.

    If you can’t address evidence – if you have no evidence of your own to relate, maybe you should just admit that you don’t know what you’re talking about, and be done with it!

    We were wondering if you were ever going to substantiate your claims. It seems the answer is no, and so the conversation really has nowhere to go other than ad homina, correct?

    It’s simply a case of me asking you to present evidence instead of biased opinion, and your being unable to do so, because you don’t have any.

    You demonstrate that your opinion is biased.

    You also demonstrate that you have no evidence.

    But you get upset when we conclude that you’re biased and have no evidence?

    There are many websites on the internet where you can find really dumb people who will believe anything you say.

    With my presence, Sudan Tribune will NO longer accomodate your lies.

    You should really take your mindless prattle elsewhere.

    I have been known to pity people of any ethnic background, who cannot produce evidence in a debate, and are so forced to resort to weak and unsubstantiated assertions which make them appear to be even more foolish, if possible.

    Courage is having the intellectual honesty to admit, that you cannot address the data or present any evidence.

    But then, neither you nor thieleling have such courage, so….

    Anything else?

    Reply
  • Khent
    Khent

    Unity state leads Sudan’s voter registration turnout
    Gatwech:

    All that you’re doing- is making completely illogical arguments which only reveal the depths of your own tribal prejudice, against Dinkas, and your need to rationalise it into something other than hate.

    Gatwech, what falls apart – with nearly every sentence you write – is your argument.

    I know, facts usually are tiresome, to people who place too much effort into disregarding them.

    You must be exhausted then.

    I’ll help you by laying it out for a childlike mind. Those recruits were responding to the greatest calling of our time- a recruit is yet to be armed. That’s what a recruit is, fool.

    That doesn’t help you though does it? You poor frustrated fool.

    It does not matter that you run away from all facts presented in this post and fail to answer my questions, while attempting to bait and deceive others, with sheer nonsense.

    I will continue to expose you for the fool you are regardless.

    Anya-Nya II (your ’movement’) perpetrated wanton killings throughout the first five years of the armed struggle. The recruits were killed in cold blood by Anya-Nya II, on discovering that they were intending to join the SPLA.

    It was in this light that following the uprising of 1983, Lual led a force of over 10, 000 recruits from Aweil on their way to join the movement in Ethiopia.

    The Aweil Dinka group, like the the Ngok Dinka group who came before them, fell into Samuel Gai Tut’s headquarters mistaking it for the authentic SPLA of Dr. John Garang.

    Upon discovering that they were NOT in the main group, Lual Diing, well know for his rare political way of manouvering things and being a seasoned politician who knew the group well, secretly told his force to join the group whom he described as the “Real SPLA.

    To disguise his sentiments, Lual congratulated the group and began to tell them how to organise an effective movement.

    He secretly told all his recruits that they must all go back home to sell their cows and report back to join the people’s revolution. The ’people’s revolution’ was thus a catchword to escape Gai’s group, in order to detour to Ethiopia.

    One by one the Aweil recruits left the camp on the pretext that they were going to sell their cows and would be back within a couple of weeks in order to join the launch of The people’s revolution.

    A couple of weeks elapsed, and Lual himself left the camp clandestinely and reported to Itang- the headquarters of Dr. John Garang’s SPLA.

    This is what happens when you speak the truth, there will always be evidence upon evidence to back you up. Isn’t it grand?

    Exercise in cognition leaves you scratching your head in ape-like bewilderment. Either that or you’re just lying out of rage and frustration. Either way, you’re busted, so now what…

    It’s a bit like the handicapped Olympics, without the ’feel good’ elements. It pleases me to watch you publicly humiliate yourself time and time again…

    No one is buying your excuses.

    Try again.

    It’s fun watching you squirm.

    Sometimes, you just have to sit back, and enjoy the show.

    You can’t debate.

    You can’t cite sources .

    You can’t even adequatly counter facts.

    You’re only good for laughs.

    Reply
  • Gatwech
    Gatwech

    Unity state leads Sudan’s voter registration turnout
    Oh, Khent,

    Stop shifting positions my dear. Look at your stupidity or should I call it the Dinka cheap way of lying and scapegoating.

    My sinful cousin, I thought you were going to provide documentations about your claims of 10,000 force led by Lual Ding to Itang.

    I thought you were going to present proofs that the Nuer were not fighting in the SPLA. Oh, dear, I don’t know what the SPLA Chief of General Staff, Lt. General James Hoth Mai and countless other Nuer officers will say as they sit there in Bilpam, Juba.

    I thought you were going to present documentations that indicated Dr. Riek Machar’s intent not to fight for the right of the people of South Sudan.

    I thought you were going to present proofs that when the Movement was formed in 1983 in Itang, the Nuer were not 2,000 and the Dinka were not 75 as I said.

    I thought you were going to present documentations proving that the Nuer did not fight the first national war with British, Equatorians did not spearhead the 1955 South-North war, the Nuer did not organize the Anya-nya II of 1975 and founded Bilpam, but the Dinka did not spearhead, ONLY by top leadership, the recent 1983 war, etc. etc. etc.

    But to my dismay, you have only presented violations by Khartoum on the peace agreement they signed with Dr. Riek Machar in 1997 on self-determination.

    This means Dr. Machar in good faith signed the agreement to free the South, but was unfortunately violated by the governmetn of Sudan.

    Is CPA of Garang free now from such violations? And would you blame Garang or Kiir for his agreement being violated by Khartoum as is the case now? Could it be their fault?

    It was Garang who refused to join peace of Riek Machar based on self-determination.

    What if Riek Machar reciprocated the jealousy of Garang and rejected the CPA and continued to fight like Garang did in the bushes, would you sit in Juba or would the fighting have continued with the other faction?

    Khent, your argument is very childish. I am sorry that I continue to argue with you………..

    Reply
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