S Sudan parties sign poll code

2010-03-03 12:34

Juba - All south Sudan’s political parties signed an election code of conduct late on Tuesday, committing themselves to ensure upcoming polls in April are free and fair.

A total of 17 rival parties came together to hammer out the agreement in a two-day meeting convened by the African Union ahead of the polls due next month, Sudan’s first multi-party elections in 24 years.

"The parties undertake to ensure that the forthcoming elections are free, fair and inclusive," the document read. "The democratic political process must be protected from any form of violence or intimidation."

A separate commitment was also signed to support the 2005 peace agreement that ended Sudan’s 22-year long civil war between north and south, and which sets up an independent referendum for the south due in 2011.

"It is a very important document because we are addressing issues of free and fair elections," southern Vice President Riek Machar told reporters following the signing.

Fair game

"It commits all parties to play a fair game in the election process," added Machar, a deputy chairman of the south’s ex-rebel turned ruling party, the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM).

Southern presidential candidate Lam Akol, who is from the splinter SPLM Democratic Change (SPLM-DC) party, also signed.

The northern-ruling National Congress Party (NCP) was not present at the meeting, but senior AU officials said the party had committed itself to signing the deal later.

Independent candidates are being encouraged to sign the agreement too. "We call on those who have not signed it to sign it now," Machar added.

South Sudan was left in ruins by the civil war with the north during which about two million people were killed, in a conflict fuelled by religion, ethnicity, ideology, resources and oil.

Many also fear that political battles could trigger violence in the south, which is already reeling from a string of violent clashes.

Conducive environment

However, AU officials said the deal would help to ensure peaceful polls.

"My strong message is that to achieve free and fair elections is primarily the responsibility of the political parties, independent candidates and the government," said Pierre Buyoya, a former Burundian president, who chaired the meeting for the AU.

"This agreement is helping create a conducive environment for that," he added.

The AU hopes to implement a similar agreement in the north, although northern based parties including the Umma and Popular Congress Party (PCP) signed the code in Juba.

Tensions remain high between the mainly Muslim north and the grossly underdeveloped south, most of whose inhabitants are Christian or follow traditional beliefs.

- SAPA