إستقالة الناطق الرسمي بإسم مفوضية الإستفتاء من منصبه شاكياً من خلافات داخلية

South Sudan referendum commission crumbling from the inside?
Thursday 4 November 2010 Send

November 3, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The South Sudan referendum commission (SSRC) is facing deep divisions within its top ranks as they begin to question their ability to hold the key vote on January 9, 2011 as required by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between the North and South more than five years ago.


U.N. Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General of Sudan Jasbir Lider hands over election materials that include voter registration kits, manuals and cards of referendum materials to the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) Chairperson Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil in Khartoum October 30, 2010 (Reuters) This week, the SSRC spokesperson Jamal Mohamed Ibrahim announced his resignation citing disagreements with the commission’s chief Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil and its Secretary General Mohamed Osman Al-Nijoumi. He also said that the plebiscite must be postponed until April 9th at the least.

But one source familiar with the work of the SSRC told Sudan Tribune that Ibrahim’s resignation was only the tip of the iceberg.

" [SSRC’s SG] Al-Nijoumi himself wanted to leave as he is finding it increasingly difficult to work with [SSRC chief] Khalil and it was only after intense pressure did he agree to stay on," said the source who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

The source described the atmosphere among the SSRC administrators as "tense" and "loaded with mistrust and suspicion".

Fuelling the tension is Khalil’s unpublicized conviction that it would be impossible to hold the referendum on time and his concern that this amounts to a failure would mar his career particularly as the whole world is watching how this process would unfold , the source added. But he acknowledged that Khalil’s management style is "autocratic" putting him at odds with his aides who feel that they lack minimum decision-making powers.

One of the major frustrations expressed by the 90-years old commission chief, the source said, is the lack of cash at his disposal needed to carry out crucial functions related to registering voters and training poll workers.

This week, the United Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) said that it has more than half the $63 million pledged by the donors to support the referendum. However it is not clear if how much of that amount has been received in cash versus logistical material needed for the vote.

According to the ti####ble released by the commission last month, voters will now be registered between November 15 and December 1 and the final list of voters will be published on January 4, five days before the start of voting.

EGYPT WANTS REFERENDUM DELAYED

Meanwhile the Egyptian government for the first time made it clear that it would like to see the referendum delayed citing concern over preparation and possibility for the outbreak of violence.

"We fear separation may be accompanied by some violent actions that affect Sudan’s relations with neighboring countries and Egypt, which circumstances may oblige to host Sudanese" fleeing unrest, the official MENA news agency quoted the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit as telling a committee at the consultative council which is known as Shura council.

"This is matter of concern that requires adequate preparations," he said.

"It is not a problem if the referendum is delayed for several months.........Sudanese should take into account the priority of the importance of life over the importance of holding the referendum on time " MENA quoted the Egyptian minister as saying.

Last week the referendum commission chief said that it would be a "miracle" to hold the plebiscite as scheduled on January 9, 2011.

Preparations for the key votes in South Sudan and Abyei have proceeded haltingly amid political and logistical obstacles, and the southerners have accused the northerners of stalling, warning of violence if the referendum is delayed. ? Furthermore, it is all but certain that the Abyei referendum will be delayed as the commission to oversee it has not been established yet. Northern officials have publicly asserted that the disputed border area will not have its vote held as scheduled as issues of border demarcation and eligibility of voters have yet to be resolved.

Last Friday, US president Barack Obama spoke on the phone with former South African president Thabo Mbeki who ######### an African Union panel on Sudan to discuss the referendum with both sides affirming that it should not be delayed.

The Egyptian top diplomat also revealed that Cairo proposed the establishment of a confederation between north and south Sudan.

"The Sudanese have requested some time to study the Egyptian proposal although they have some reservations," he added.

South Sudan president said in a press statements that any idea of confederation can only be discussed after the South actually secedes.

(ST)