Consequences of Rigged Elections In Southern Sudan

Many electoral systems for example are institutionalized frauds. They include the so-called “democratic centralism” of communist systems and most one-party systems. In these, the people have hardly any choice in who their representatives shall be. One way or another the choice is made for them!” (Dr. Afrifa K. Gitonga, University of Nairobi, 1987).

In political philosophy of democracy, the English philosopher John Locke and French Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau theorized it rightly that mature human beings should never be ruled arbitrarily. Instead, a covenant or social contract should be made on the basis of the General Will which makes the people the sovereign authority. But since the people cannot all rule at the same time, they have to elect one of them in a fair, free and equal manner to represent them as their ruler according to the principles and terms of the covenant or the social contract (the constitution and other related laws). And as long as such elected ruler act and continue to act in respect and service of the people, they shall have obligation to obey him and his rule. Should such a ruler break the spirit and terms of the contract, the people shall have the equal obligation to do away with him and his government so as to install another good, fair and just government of their choice. Thus is how the adopted democracy in the Sudan supposed to look like, but alas!

Early I recommended strongly to the National Elections Commission (NEC) under Mr. Abel Alier (I remove Honorable from his title this time because he has proven to be dishonorable with his announcement of the fraudulent elections results) that the rigged elections boxes should be disqualified and the riggers brought to book for stealing the people’s confidence. Alas! Dishonorable Abel Alier and his NEC did not heed to the voices of wisdom as they resorted to respect of irrationality by declaring the real losers as winners and winners as losers shamelessly, especially given the SPLM/A madness of rigging the polling results in Southern Sudan .

Mr. Alier and his shameless NEC told the victims of the vote riggings to raise their objections to the Constitutional Court where the verdicts were obvious to be eraser of any objection for the simple reason that adjourning the rigged elections shall be costly in terms of logistics, human resource, management and other tactical and strategic selfish interests of the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the two Naivasha’s CPA partners who have employed and are paying the dishonorable NEC chief and his staff.

Notwithstanding, those who adjudicate the objections in this court have been recommended for appointments in their respective position by the SPLM and NCP in accordance with the CPA power sharing percentages. Can they defy serving their masters and can they dare biting the hands that feeds them? Not at all, and including Mr. Alier and his NEC staff as well. Very unfortunate!!!

Perhaps, Mr. Prosecutor General Luiz Moreno-Ocampo of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will be a happy man here for enhancement of the proof of his case for warranting the trial of Mr. President Al-Bashir at The Hague since there is no independent and neutral judiciary in the Sudan to do justice to the victims of social and political crimes, especially when committed by the ruling parties like NCP in the North and SPLM in the South. By canceling every objection raised against the SPLM and NCP candidates elect, is there a neutral judiciary in the Sudan ?

No doubt, that is why many democratic countries and international community, especially those who were involved in observing the Sudan elections have held their tongues to send congratulations messages to the declared elections winners like Mr. Al-Bashir, Mr. Kiir and their SPLM-NCP governors and parliamentarians. Instead, they congratulated the Sudanese people only for turning out and voting peacefully for their preferred and chosen leaders. See the different!!!

But at least the rigging that took place in Northern Sudan under the NCP was done technically without contradiction to the number size of the registered voters. That is why you don’t see any instant of pre-elections violence over there. That is why also you see the NCP declaring Mr. Malik Agar as the winner of gubernatorial contest in the Blue Nile State without any bloodshed though it was known that he lost so badly to the NCP candidate. For the NCP, Mr. Agar is a good-boy to be lose because he has sold them vast lands for agriculture with capital flowing from the oil-rich Gulf countries for securing their food from the fertile lands in the Sudan . He is a good-boy because he stands against secession and independence of South Sudan . Perhaps, according to the NCP strategists and interests calculators, if Mr. Agar was declared a loser he might have spoiled the whole land deal, and the huge money from the Gulf states that has been poured into his agriculturally fertile and loose state would have been missed regretfully. Perhaps Mr. Agar would have turned separatist immediately. Look at the smartness of the NCP when it comes to securing their interests! What about our poor SPLM and incompetent Mr. Kiir in the South? Nil!!!

The SPLM under Mr. Kiir and his cronies failed miserably to play a smart electrons rigging game. The consequence now is an armed military rebellion in the South by former SPLA generals who contested for gubernatorial positions as independent candidates in defiance of SPLM Political Bureau dictatorship. At least the political rebellion of those of Dr. Lam Akol and others against SPLM and Mr. Kiir was a lesser evil because it involved no manifestation and ramifications of violent use of power. Surely, with such incompetence and lack of strategic thinking and planning, Mr. Kiir’s SPLM is messing up the direly needed conducive environment for successfully conducting the referendum for self-determination of Southerners and Popular Consultation for the transitional areas in 2011. God save us!

By pushing those former Generals like Mr. George Athor and others to insurgence option in the bushes of Southern Sudan because of denying them the gubernatorial powers they would have deserved to enjoy, Mr. Kiir’s SPLM has proven to the people of Southern Sudan that the right to self-determination is never its sincere core interest. Mr. Kiir and his SPLM political party want to be in power and swim in wealth only without knowing exactly what good they want to do for the South with this power and wealth of the people. What would it have caused the SPLM if Mr. Kiir had allowed Mr. George Athor to become the governor of Jonglei State ? None but gain of security and stability in this troubled state and its neighbors!!! Now the Bor-Dinka and some other neighbors are on the run for refuge elsewhere because of the imminent threat by Mr. Athor and his rebel forces. God have mercy!

No doubt, it is God on the side of the people of Southern Sudan who shall cross Southerners into the promised land of independence with prosperity. From what we have seen and badly witnessed during the SPLM 2^nd Convention and the recently concluded April general elections, neither the SPLM nor Mr. Salva Kiir shall be conceived again as a Joshua or a savior of South Sudan . The SPLM has proven not different in the South and even worst then the NCP in the North. That is why many Southerners are now running to the North for refuge in the NCP territory where they feel secure a bit than in the SPLM’s zone and its army, the SPLA. In one way or another they are saying: Better be a secured slave than insecure free citizen!!!

Please God, send us a referendum messiah from elsewhere because Mr. Kiir and his SPLM have dashed the hope of the majority of the people of Southern Sudan by creating constant and hopeless situations in the beloved land of the black.

To this juncture I can conclude like the above quote of Professor Gitonga of the University of Nairobi that if democracy means good, fair and just government of men and women in the society according to various connotations of the concepts, it follows that it can only be established, it can only live, survive and thrive in a country of good, fair and just men and women.

It is certainly not through the most scrupulous adherence to the letter and spirit of the electoral rules and procedures that, for example, some African rulers like the SPLM candidates and the Arabs rulers like the NCP candidates manage to be regularly re-elected with majorities of 99% votes from nowhere (from rigging and other irregularities). Thus, in the Sudan so far and so bad, real democracy remains an ever escaping dream of practicality beyond the utopian rhetoric. Even if Mr. USA President Obama were a Sudanese contesting in the recently April general elections as an opposition candidate, he would have lost to the SPLM and NCP even if the people voted massively for him in quest for change.

No single doubt at all, the genuine change that is needed in the Sudan shall remain a missed reality as long as NCP and SPLM continue to cooperate for clinging to power and related wealth by any means without people’s choice and happiness.

“If there were a people of gods, they would rule themselves democratically. So perfect a government is not suited for men.”(Jean-Jacques Rousseau).

Dr. James Okuk is a concerned citizen of the Independent South Sudan in the waiting reachable at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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