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Sudan Referendum Commission to Respond to Dissolution Efforts

   Peter Clottey 21 December 2010
   Sudanese  President Omar al-Bashir (C) meets with Libyan leader Moamer
   Kadhafi  (L)  and  Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak in Khartoum, 21 Dec
   2010

Photo: AFP

   Sudanese  President Omar al-Bashir (C) meets with Libyan leader Moamer
   Kadhafi  (L)  and  Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak in Khartoum, 21 Dec
   2010

   An  official with Sudanâs referendum commission said the commission is
   set  to  officially respond Wednesday to petitions seeking the groupâs
   dissolution ahead of next monthâs referendum.

   George Benjamin, spokesman for the referendum commission, told VOA his
   organization is set to receive ballot papers that will be used for the
   scheduled 9^th January referendum.

   âThe  petitions  that  have  been  filed  against  the  commission  by
   different  groups,  at  almost the same time, would indicate that some
   organized  move  is  being  cooked  (prepared)  or  it has been cooked
   somewhere  in order to derail and disrupt the work of the commission,â
   said Benjamin.

   âWe  will  deal  with  it,  of  course, as the situation requires in a
   responsible  and  legal manner. And, as long as these (petitions) come
   before  a  court of law, it will require a legal and sensible response
   from the commission.â

   Sudanâs   Constitutional   Court   recently  demanded  the  referendum
   commission  answer  the allegations, including fraud and intimidation,
   during the recent voter registration process.

   Several  groups  petitioned  the  court seeking the dissolution of the
   commission  claiming  alleged  irregularities  during the registration
   process will undermine the credibility of the referendum.

   But,  Benjamin  said  there  are reasons to believe that some of these
   groups  want  to  derail  the  upcoming  referendum.  He also said the
   commission  is  capable  of  organizing a credible referendum, despite
   attempts to hamper activities of his commission.

   âThe  commission  has  already  gone  a  long  way in implementing the
   process   of   the   referendum,   and   quite  successfully.  Despite
   difficulties that surrounded its formation and the short time that was
   given  to it, it has, by far, succeeded in implementing and putting in
   (the)  process  of  all  the  stages required by the referendum,â said
   Benjamin.

   Meanwhile,  Sudanâs neighbors have vowed to respect the outcome of the
   referendum following a meeting in the capital, Khartoum.

   Libyan  leader  Muammar  Gaddafi,  Egyptian  President  Hosni Mubarak,
   Sudanese  leader  Omar  Hassan al-Bashir, as well as southern Sudanese
   leader  Salva  Kiir, met Tuesday to find ways to resolve âtensions and
   controversiesâ   surrounding   full   implementation   of   the   2005
   Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

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