Greater Pibor Administrative Area: No High Committee for June 2015 Election
By Malith Alier, Juba
January 14, 2015 (SSB) — Listening to South Sudan Radio this evening, one could only hear about formation of ten States High Election Committees excluding the two Administrative Areas of Abyei and Pibor. What does this really imply?
Greater Pibor Administrative Area or GPAA was created through peace agreement last year so that it is self governing away from Jonglei and under the Office of the President. The Chief Administrator status is equal to that of a governor of any other State in the country.
On the other hand, the Abyei Administrative Area or AAA came about as a result of dispute between South Sudan and Sudan over the area. Many analysts referred to it as the Kashmir of Africa.
The two administrative areas are clearly on the wrong footing when it comes to national issues like the planned elections. While AAA is predominantly SPLM, GPAA has switched to SSDM-Cobra Faction if that name is still cherished by David Yauyau.
Towards the end of 2014, an important question was asked by a delegate of Jonglei State Liberation Council in a meeting of the State Liberation Council (SLC) whether the SPLM Party was still in existence in GPAA. The delegates agreed to refer the question to the SPLM Chairman, Salva Kiir Mayardit. However, some delegates were not sure while others asserted that the mighty SPLM was still there in that wilderness.
The most important test whether the SPLM and other parties are still there in GPAA is the upcoming general election. Surely GPAA is firmly under the control of Cobra Faction led by David Yauyau. The area has been chipped away from the SPLM and those who still daydream that the SPLM is still supreme there should be ready for a shock. In fact, a showdown is likely as a result of the formation of High Election Committees that exclude GPAA and AAA.
The GPAA has been made a state of its own through the Addis Ababa agreement of 2014. It has seven Counties, a governor, ministers, parliament and local government structures.
The fact that some of its members are still ruling in Jonglei is an anomaly that needs redressing politically. It has never happened anywhere in this country that people from different States are allowed to hold high level positions in another state. Likewise, GPAA does not employ other people from other states in its administration headed by Yauyau.
The upcoming election is therefore, incomplete based on the designation structures of GPAA. It needs its own high committee to be like the rest of states of the country. Without this, the chances are that another, revolt is likely in GPAA.
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