SPLM & NCP claim win in South Kordofan gubernatorial elections
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May 7, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and
the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) both preempted the
announcement of election results in South Kordofan saying their
candidates for governor have won.
JPEG - 31 kb
A polling officer marks a man’s finger at a polling centre during the
second voting day in Kadugli, in South Kordofan State May 3, 2011
(Reuters)
The state’s incumbent governor Ahmed Haroun, representing the NCP in
control of the north, is running against his deputy Abdel-Aziz Al-Hilu
who is a leading figure in the SPLM which is the dominant party in
South Sudan.
Haroun is known internationally as he is wanted by the International
Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes he allegedly committed in Darfur.
Even though the South will become an independent state officially in
July, the SPLM says it will retain a presence in the North through its
Northern sector.
Southern Kordofan, the site of oilfields and important civil war
battlegrounds on the undefined north-south border, is key to Khartoum
because its neighbors Darfur and the disputed oil-producing border
region of Abyei border, another possible flashpoint between both sides
in the build-up to the South’s secession.
The vote in South Kordofan, which was delayed from a year ago over a
census disagreement, was largely peaceful but analysts fear an
outbreak of violence when results are announced.
Yesterday the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news channel said that figures it
obtained show a lead for the SPLM candidate by 14,000 votes.
But the deputy NCP chairman in South Kordofan Mohi Al-Toum Hamed said
in press statements that any accurate count will show a big win for
the Northern based NCP. He alleged that the SPLM wants to prepare the
ground for not recognizing the outcome of the polls.
An SPLM senior figure however dismissed the NCP claims.
"I cannot speculate on the results which are being counted. I cannot
tell you who would win these elections but, it is clear from
preliminary results that comrade Abdel-Aziz Adam Al-Hilu will
eventually lead the results", said James Wani Igga, speaker of South
Sudan Legislative Assembly, in an interview with Sudan Tribune from
Juba.
Igga said he is self-assured that his comrade will win if the
elections commission concludes the counting without succumbing to
military and political pressures.
The elections commission is scheduled to release preliminary results
on Sunday and transmit it to the headquarters for certification in
mid-May. There is a two weeks appeal window afterwards for those
willing to challenge the results.
But the top election official in South Kordofan Adam Abdeen told Sudan
Tribune that the process of matching votes to registered voters is
proceeding slowly and said there are proposals of forming additional
committees to speed up the process.
The authorities in South Kordofan urged the residents to accept the
results irrespective of the winner and announced a set of measures
include a ban on using weapons and staffing rallies during the count
and up to announcing results.
Nasir Kuku, a native of Nuba Mountains from Kadugli told Sudan Tribune
in a separate interview that the NCP faced its toughest challenge
since elections campaign began.
Kuku said candidates from both parties spent the last days of official
campaign period explaining policies and programs while apologizing for
mistakes and perceived arrogance amid growing voter discontent over
soaring mistrust and insecurity in the state
"There are immediate problems on everyone’s minds, like the growing
mistrust and insecurity in the state polarized by religious and
political affiliations. They need a fair minded political leader to
find way to address them as issues of priorities".
"Our people need a party that will bring peace and development. They
do not need a party that resorts to arming civilians to kill each
other instead of bringing them together to address their differences",
he said declining to mention the party to which cast his vote.
(ST)
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