South Sudan's National Statistics Bureau says it will not be able to hold a census before general elections in June, even though the country's transitional constitution calls for a population head-count before the polls.
National Statistics Bureau Chairman Isaiah Chol Aruai said the year-old crisis in South Sudan has prevented the bureau from collecting census data. South Sudan's constitution says those data are needed to determine, among other things, "...the number of electoral constituencies for the next general elections."
Aruai said the bureau’s failure to hold a census ahead of the elections should not stop the polls from taking place.
"Under normal situation, the census was supposed to precede the election, but that was when there was no political crisis in the country," he said.
"As we speak, the context has changed. It looks like the elections will have to stand alone. They should not be contingent on the conduct of a census," he said.
President Salva Kiir’s administration announced last month that it has approved a budget of $517 million for elections in which South Sudanese will elect a president, lawmakers and state governors. A week later, the National Elections Commission said the polls will be held on June 30.
Opposition politicians, civil society groups and refugees in Uganda have spoken out against holding elections while the country is still in crisis. Some have noted that the transitional constitution requires that a census be held before elections are organized.
Use 2008 census data
But Beny Gideon Mabor, a civil society activist, said that, as controversial as the elections may be, they can be held on June 30th, with or without new census data. Mabor works with the South Sudan Law Society and has been a representative of South Sudan civil society groups at peace talks in Addis Ababa.
To hold a vote, he said population data from a census conducted in 2008 -- before South Sudan was an independent nation -- could be used.
The 2008 census was conducted by the Sudanese government before the historic 2011 referendum that created South Sudan. The results estimated the population of southern Sudan at around eight million. The authorities in the southern region rejected the census results. They said they disagreed with the population estimate and claimed many anomalies in the manner in which the process was conducted.
South Sudan’s constitution does not stipulate that elections have to be held this year but the document does say that President Kiir’s tenure will end on July 9 of this year.
Source http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-vote-elections-census/2592223.html
Newer articles:
- Sudan: No Peace In Sight For Either Sudan - 12/01/2015 11:20
- Tanzania: Kikwete to Grace Resumption of S. Sudan Peace Talks - 12/01/2015 05:32
- OHCHR PRESS BRIEFING NOTES - Yemen, South Sudan, Cuba - 11/01/2015 09:31
- South Sudan: UN Probe Confirms Abuses, Rights Violations - 10/01/2015 17:46
- South Sudan massacres last year may be war crimes: U.N. - 09/01/2015 21:38
Older news items
- UN Report: No One Held Accountable in South Sudan Massacre - 09/01/2015 19:39
- UN probe says South Sudan attacks #39;nadir #39; of conflict marked by abuses, rights violations - 09/01/2015 17:36
- South Sudan: Obama Should Support Arms Embargo - 09/01/2015 11:31
- UN confirms hundreds slaughtered in S.Sudan atrocities - 09/01/2015 07:58
- Rights groups urge United States to seek U.N. arms embargo on South Sudan - 08/01/2015 14:39
Latest news items (all categories):
- MTN South Sudan Launches eSIM Technology in a National First - 14/01/2025 16:34
- U.A.E : MoFA receives credentials copy from new Ambassador of Republic of South Sudan - 14/01/2025 16:31
- Helping a lost generation: food security and animal health in South Sudan - 14/01/2025 15:20
- ديمقراطية وحرية إستخفاف العقول - 14/01/2025 15:04
- [Audio] South Sudan holdout groups form alliance - 10/01/2025 14:12
Random articles (all categories):
- South Sudan accuses rebels of mobilizing 'White Army' - 29/12/2013 12:45
- World Bank Group Appoints New Country Manager for South Sudan - 18/08/2021 09:42
- Petronas Awards Scholarships To South Sudanese Students - 11/05/2013 12:12
- ISS Today: Is justice possible during South Sudan's civil war? - 15/03/2018 18:26
- South Sudan impasse impedes swearing in of EALA legislators - 14/06/2017 00:46
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 61394 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22303 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21488 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19048 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 18757 times