ELECTIONS

Bishop Daniel Adwok with Bakhita Radio Directress, Sr. Cecilia Sierra © JVieira

Every citizen has the right to choose his or her leaders and elections are the expression of that democratic right, says church leader.
The Auxiliary Bishop of Khartoum, Daniel Adwok Marko Kur, told Bakhita Radio that people have the right to choose the leaders that will deliver what is required from them in terms of services to the country and its citizens.
“Elections are a democratic expression of the rights of each and everyone to choose the leaders he would wish to govern us, leaders that we know they will honestly deliver to the people what is required and what is demanded of them”, the bishop underlined.
Bishop Adwok said that people in Southern Sudan have never had the possibility to exercise their voting rights. In past elections strings were controlled from Khartoum and the people of the South were practically actuated to vote in candidates or politicians who would only play the tune of the Government or remain seated in parliament speechless", he added.
Bishop Adwok is confident that with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement possibilities are high to further design polices of good governance by educating the people on their God given rights and dignity to choose the way and means by which they can be govern.
“With the Comprehensive Peace Agreement we have the chance to really start anew as a nation and as a people that can truly govern itself in honesty and sincerity, without deceit and without corruption of any form”, the bishop explained.
Bishop Adwok urged every citizen to exercise his democratic right to vote and contribute to the building of the nation through their participation in the upcoming elections in 2009.
He warned citizens against selling votes or succumb to any form of manipulation from politicians who do not have at heart the good of the people. “It is like selling oneself, one is not any freer and cannot claim good conduct from the politicians”, bishop Adwok said.
And he added: “Throughout the conflict years we were crying that we were being oppressed and the yoke of persecution and slavery was heavy on us. We cannot forget so soon the suffering and the millions of people who died in the over 50 years of the conflict simply because they wanted to be free and masters of their own fate. If we allow corruption in the electoral system, if we accept bribes just to let someone get into the Parliament or into the Government, because they have given us money, we have just repeated what we were crying against, the oppression and have shown no sign of respect for those who lost their lives crying for justice and respect of the human person. We have made ourselves to be oppressed because selling a vote is selling out our right”, the auxiliary bishop of Khartoum charged.
Bishop Adwok said that the right of voting freely is a God given right.
He added that people should be made aware of the census results as well as of the procedures concerning the electoral lists and constituencies.
He further added that the border between the North and the South has to be settled still.
“These are some of the challenges ahead of us while embarking on the preparatory stages for the elections and finally the referendum in 2011 or so. They are also a challenge to the CPA. What ever be the case no one should loose hope in the CPA. It still stands as the best peace agreement that Sudan has ever produced,” the auxiliary bishop of Khartoum concluded.