Does South Sudan Referendum Act Permit Deng Alor Kuol to Vote in South Sudan referendum?

The South Sudan Referendum Commission made it very clear that people from Abyei cannot vote in the upcoming referendum because Abyei, according to the CPA, has a separate referendum. The only person from Abyei that is allowed to vote in South Sudan referendum is somebody who is not any longer a citizen of Abyei and can no longer claim to have any ties with Abyei whatsoever.

That person will have to identify himself or herself as somebody not from Abyei but from any region of the South without mentioning Abyei and without claiming later to vote in Abyei referendum.

The case of Deng Alor is something that seems to violate the rules of South Sudan referendum commission because Mr. Deng Alor Kuol is known as a citizen of Abyei who is entitled to vote in Abyei referendum should Abyei Area exercise the referendum in January. The fact that Deng Alor Kuol is a Minister of Regional Cooperation does not qualify him to register and vote in South Sudan referendum. If Deng Alor is allowed to register and vote, it gives an impression that all the Abyei people who live in the South should register and vote in South Sudan referendum.

But the problem is that Abyei has a separate referendum and one does not need to be a legal scholar to conclude that Abyei people cannot have a right to vote in both South Sudan and Abyei referenda. People who are citizens of Abyei are NOT allowed to vote in South Sudan referendum because Abyei has a separate referendum as stipulated in Abyei Protocol.

The South Sudan Referendum Commission should immediately cancel Deng Alor\'s registration card because that would engender complaints from the NCP that the Commission allowed citizens of Abyei who have a separate referendum to vote in South Sudan referendum. The referendum commission needs to rectify that mistake as soon as possible because it would create legal problems and complaints from the NCP.

The fact that Deng Alor is a citizen of Abyei is unquestionable because he has been the lead negotiator on the side of the SPLM for the rights of Abyei people. Those who allowed Deng Alor Kuol to register in South Sudan referendum are ignorant of South Sudan referendum act which governs who should vote in South Sudan referendum. The peope of Abyei are not allowed to vote in South Sudan referendum because they have a separate referendum. This does not need debate unless somebody is not in touch with South Sudan Referendum Act.

Please, read the article below showing Deng Alor registering in South Sudan referendum.

The registration of voters for the January South Sudan Referendum has been extended by one week.

26 November 2010

GoSS Regional Co-operation Minister Deng Alor registers at Dr Garang Mausoleum, Juba.[©L. Lomayat]

By Jerry Abuga

 

JUBA, 26 November 2010 (Gurtong) – In a press release, the Southern Sudan Referendum Bureau (SSRB) has today announced that the exercise will now end on December 8 and not the earlier scheduled December 1.

 

However, SSRB clarified that the extension of the registration process has not changed the date of the start of polling of January 9.

“The Southern Sudan Referendum Bureau would like to assure that the decision to extend the voter registration process was a decision taken by the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission after discussion with all its members and was for technical reasons”, read part of the statement dated November 26, 2010.

 

SSRB said it has been experiencing delays in the delivery of additional registration materials needed to address the shortages in certain locations where turnout has exceeded expectations.

The bureau added that despite communication difficulties with most referendum centres, the turnout remains high across South Sudan.

It announced that it has formed special reporting teams to visit the referendum centres to record figures and report back the number of registrants and “needs for additional materials as a matter of urgency”.

At the same time, SSRB has announced that the registration of prisoners will commence shortly, subject to availability of additional materials.

The bureau has also asked foreign journalists, observers and special guests to register with the SSRC in Khartoum.

“If they do not have representation or a partner organisation in Khartoum then they can submit their application here in Juba with the bureau whereupon their application will be forwarded to Khartoum for processing”, said the bureau.