SOUTH SUDAN’S 2015 ELECTIONS: AN EPITOME OF FAILURE
6 min readBy Dut Mabior, Kenya
January 18, 2015 (SSB) — As I prepare my readership to go through this topic, it’s painful to realise that our country is in such a difficult time in history. It is the time we should put our energy together as a people and work toward achieving everlasting peace for all. If we hear of something different other than bringing peace, then we are damned! I hold the view that these elections being talked about are meant to uphold the integrity of our supreme law and renew the legitimacy of our elected government. I don’t think this is the right idea as at now. Below I justify.
Our country has had a number of violations to the constitution and further violations won’t cause harm anymore. It’s well stipulated in the Transition Constitution of the Republic that the president can fire an elected governor of a state amid failure in running the state. The exercise is thereafter followed by an immediate appointment of a caretaker governor after which the state elections are held within 60 days. This has not been the case in Unity state when Governor Taban Deng was fired and replaced with Governor Monytuil (caretaker ), Lake state when Governor Eng. Chol Tong was fired and replaced with Governor Gen. Matur Chut (caretaker ), Jonglei State when Governor Kuol Juuk was appointed to head the ministry of defense and veterans affairs, replaced with Governor Gen. John Nyuon (caretaker) and Northern Bar El Ghazel state when Governor Paul Malong was replaced with Governor Kuel Aguer (caretaker) after promotion to the chief of Military staff. If indeed the constitution is being upheld in totality, then why are the elections in the said states have not been conducted upon the expiry of the caretaker terms? It doesn’t show that, the constitution is being respected. It looks more or less that something is being cooked to suit the diagrammatic scheming in the country.
This constitution has been violated in so many avenues. The ministry of information gave orders barring journalists from interviewing rebels because they would be rebels by osmosis or diffusion, whatever the biological concept behind it. These rebels being citizens of South Sudan have the rights of expression. The citizenry too have the rights to hear the side of the story of the rebels, why did they rebel, a right we have been robbed of by the same body now purporting to protect the law.
If the constitution was being preserved in its totality, then the likes of opinion writers like Isaiah Abraham would not have lost their lives. Others like the G-10 would not be forced into exile after being acquitted by a court of law.
It tells me that the constitution has been violated so many times and violating it again makes the difference the same.
Why would we expose our population to an exercise they are not ready to undertake? The whole of the upper Nile Region with all its states are not ready Lake State is bleeding, Northern Bar El Ghazel has issues too. Who will vote then! This convinces me to priorities peace before elections.
Others ask: Why can’t we vote yet it has been the case in the former Sudan, Syria and many other countries. The results of sidelining others in the matters of national importance leads to a civil war like the one in Syria and the SPLA war with the Khartoum regime which led to the independence of South Sudan. Not unless we want to have a part of our country to claim independence, we won’t advocate for an exercise as shameful as these elections. And why can’t we give examples of Ghana, South Africa, Kenya let alone the examples of failed states like Sudan.
I think, the reality of the Juba chaos is now taking shape. Before these crises, the government was talking of conducting census before elections. The same administration was crying of having no funds to conduct the said exercise. Indeed I quote the president once saying the elections could be differed by a year or two. Why would we be rushed into elections without having done the constitutional prerequisites, does it mean the violence was engineered to exile the political competitors? I fail to answer.
If indeed elections are to be held in the absence of rebels and the G-10, then the elections are to go unopposed, Let’s not vote and allow the electoral commission to announce the candidates winners by default.
Others may think that I am damn mongrel with no resolution and the way forward to legitimize the government after it’s official expiry. South Sudan has its law making body, parliament. Not only the 2015 elections will legitimize the presidency of H. E after the July 9th, this can be extended by an act of Parliament. If the term limit is the problem than, it can be extended by 5 years, I will have no problem with that so long the $517 millions is put into something else required to keep our suffering population in the displaced camps going. Elections are not important now above bringing peace first.
I wonder how our people think, it has been repeatedly said by our president that he is committed to bringing peace to the country. The realisation of this peace is succeeded by an interim period of 2-3 years after which elections are doable. Why do we talk lots about elections now when peace can make a different recommendation or are we not ready to negotiate for peace any more? For me, I will first give peace a chance and then find out what it says to do elections.
If violating the constitution is only applicable when the title is preceded by a caretaker as in the caretaker Governor, then Let’s call our president caretaker president after the July 9th and we first work to bring peace to the country before doing elections.
Ladies and gentlemen,my fellow compatriots, running around defending a constitution that has been violated on so many occasions will not convince a rational thinker of my caliber. Therefore, conducting these elections will only confirm our readiness to be like Sudan and Syria, indeed an epitome of failure.
The author is a student of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Kenyatta University, Nairobi Kenya.
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