SPLM Denies Accussations Of Monopolizing Referendum Activities In South

23 November 2010 – (Juba) – The SPLM has denied monopolizing referendum activities in the south at the expense of other southern Sudanese political parties.

The SPLM stated that as a signatory to the CPA, the party has an obligation to fulfill its pledges by including other political parties in the referendum programs as depicted by the recent south-south dialogue.

SPLM deputy secretary-general for southern sector, Doctor Anne Itto briefed the media at the Referendum Operation Room in Juba on Tuesday. She said that GOSS has allocated funds to be decided upon solely by the southern Sudanese political parties.

[Anne Itto]: “The south Sudan referendum is not an SPLM thing. It is about a decision southern Sudanese are going to make on the future of southern Sudan, and that has been recognized by the SPLM. The Government of Southern Sudan has allocated ten million US dollars for political parties’ mobilization, and the leadership forum is to agree on how this money is going to be divided–not the SPLM and not even the Government of Southern Sudan. So when other political parties claim that the referendum is led by the SPLM, maybe they are right, in the sense that during the last elections the SPLM was voted in by ninety three percent, but it is the government linking with political parties’ organizations and linking with civil society organizations.”

Doctor Anne further denied claims by the NCP that its senior chief campaigner has been arrested at Juba airport when he arrived in the region for unity campaigns.

On the low voter turn out in Diaspora, Doctor Anne attributed it the inclusive of some foreign nationals in manning the referendum by the International Organization for Migration.

[Anne Itto]: “What happened in many of these countries outside where voting is allowed is that IOM could not tell the difference between who is a representative of the community and who is an imposter. In Kampala, people were scared because IOM brought a personnel who was an Egyptian, and another one was from other nationality who actually had no idea about the context of southern Sudan, and yet the law is very clear about who should be at the center; it is a representative of the IOM, a representative of South Sudan Referendum Commission and a representative of southern Sudanese community association. Even the chiefs in Khartoum are complaining that they are not allowed to be at the centers, the law does not allow chiefs to be there.”

SPLM deputy secretary-general for southern sector and the GOSS Minister of Agriculture, Doctor Anne Itto addressed the press in Juba on Tuesday.