Political parties to meet to discuss strategies for the referendum

JUBA (Jul 21, 2010) - The Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) Southern Sector is to convene a conference with other Southern Political Parties this week to draw common positions on issues regarding the 2011 Referendum on Self-Determination, said the office of the Deputy Secretary  General of the SPLM for the Southern Sector on Wednesday after a preparatory meeting with delegates from Southern Political Parties.

During the meeting on Wednesday at the SPLM Southern Sector headquarters,delegates from the Southern Political Parties welcomed the move and said that they had collectively turned down an invitation by the NCP to attend a meeting in Khartoum to discuss unity, an option they believe is too late to campaign for.

Issues discussed during the meeting included the role and duties of the Referendum Task Force funded by the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) and the role all parties are expected to play to ensure that the referendum is carried out successfully.

The meeting also discussed the possibilities of all political parties to reach a common understanding on how to educate and mobilize the general public to enable them to make the right choices during the 2011 Referendum.

“The Referendum on Self-Determination is not like the elections where political parties campaign to win votes for their parties and programs.

The referendum does not belong to any political party or group. This time, Southerners have to work together to ensure that the people make an informed and decisive choice on whether to secede to remain united,” said one delegate.

The follow-up meeting scheduled to take place this week will look into ways of developing common strategies to educate possible voters about the referendum, the law and the post-referendum arrangements currently in negotiations.

“It is time for us to go and tell our people that we only have two simply choices, unity or secession. Whatever choice the people want to choose, it is mainly our responsibility to tell them what the Law says and requires of them. When different political parties go mobilizing and telling people different, mixed or contradictory messages, the people often get confused and we do not want that to happened especially during this referendum,“ he added.

It is believed that an overwhelming majority of Southerners will vote for secession. The Referendum Law requires a simple majority (51%) of either choices provided the turnout of registered voters is 60% or more.

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