Opposition parties in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria have rejected the appointment of Abdalla Hassan Famai Adidi as the chairperson of state elections commission.
The national election commission chairperson, Prof Abednego Akok, on June 19 appointed the poll bosses in the 10 states.
Adidi is currently the Director General for Local Government and Law Enforcement agencies in Eastern Equatoria. The opposition parties said he is the right-hand man of the long-serving Governor Louis Lobong Lojore, thus likely to favor SPLM in the election.
In late April, 2024, a high-level delegation from the national election commission, headed by Prof Akok, was in Torit to consult on elections and were asked to explain the criterion for appointing members to the state commission. They promised to base the recruitment on merit after advertisement to invite the candidates.
The Eastern Equatoria State Transitional Legislative Assembly SPLM-IO Chief Whip, Vitale Ofire Rafael, told Radio Tamazuj that his party wants non-partisan people to avoid compromising the elections.
“The appointment of the state election chairperson is wrong and is not in accordance with the law because when the NEC body came to Torit on April 30, we asked about the five-member committee and they said those to be selected will be non-party affiliates and people with integrity and the right academic qualifications. We are surprised by the appointment of Abdallah Hassan Adidi on Wednesday as it defies the briefing to that committee,” he said.
“We know Abdallah is the Director General for Local Government and is the Governor’s right hand person, he is political and we don’t want the process to be politicized because according our agreement with the NEC officials, people had to apply for the five positions, but we are now asking when the one appointed applied?
“This official will be working for one party, which is SPLM, because we have seen the governor here appointing senior civil servants to political positions,” he added
The Secretary General for Other Political Parties (OPP) in Eastern Equatoria, Assis Otulo, said: “We just heard about it on Thursday, but I want to tell the people of South Sudan that such moves will not succeed and will not take us anywhere.”
A member of SSOA, who is also a lawmaker at Eastern Equatoria State assembly, Jeff Longoria, also condemned the appointment, insisting that consultations ought to have been done among parties
The chairperson for Civil Society Network for Eastern Equatoria, Charles Onen Lokwaruk, however, welcomed the appointment saying implementation of the peace agreement should not be distracted.
“To us as civil society, wat we need is the independence of that commission. The members should be people of integrity and with high levels of impartiality,” he said.
Lokwaruk said that any concerns should be addressed using the law.
The South Sudan elections law mandates that the Chairperson of the National Elections Commission appoint chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of high committees at the state level, considering consultations and representation of women and the youth.
The chairperson and deputy chairperson of the state elections commission work full-time. All other members work on a part-time basis but may be engaged on a full-time basis as the Commission deems necessary.
The law says each high committee at the state level shall comprise five members, including the chairperson and deputy chairperson, who shall be persons known to be of high integrity, independent, experienced, non-partisan and impartial.
The tenure for high committee members is six years, renewable for one additional term only.