The Reform and Prosperity, a group of advocates competing for various positions within the South Sudan Bar Association, announced on Tuesday their intention to disqualify the candidate representing the Advocates Alliance.
The contest between the Reform and Prosperity and the Advocates Alliance includes positions such as the President, Deputy, and Secretary General of the South Sudan Bar Association.
Over the past few years, the Bar Association has faced crises, with multiple factions led by different individuals claiming legitimacy. However, a Supreme Court ruling on March 20 resolved legal concerns, dissolved former Bar Associations, and outlined a roadmap for conducting credible, free, and fair elections for the South Sudan Bar Association.
According to the election timetable released by the electoral committee, the elections are scheduled for May 29. The Reform and Prosperity group has declared Advocate Reech Ring as their candidate for President, while the Advocates Alliance has nominated Advocate Arop Malueth Manon for the top position in the South Sudan Bar Association.
Addressing reporters at the Judiciary Headquarters in Juba, Advocate Kamal John Nyeart Akol, Technical Advisor and a member of the Reform and Prosperity Group, announced that they have submitted an objection letter to the court seeking to disqualify Arop Malueth Manon’s candidacy for the presidency of the Bar Association.
“Our group has taken a step by submitting an objection letter to the High Electoral Committee regarding the nomination of the other candidate from the Advocate Alliance, Advocate Arop Malueth. We argue that he violates Article 20 of the conduct of business, which requires presidential candidates to have ten years of practice as an advocate, a requirement missing in the other candidate,” Kamal stated.
He further mentioned that their objection has been successfully submitted and accepted by the electoral committee. They are now awaiting a response from the other party, and the results will be announced to the public within 72 hours.
In response to the Reform and Prosperity Group’s attempt to disqualify their candidate, Advocate Wani Stephen, the head of the media campaign team of the Advocates Alliance, affirmed that their candidate meets all the requirements to contest for the presidency of the South Sudan Bar Association.
“I would like to clarify that Advocate Arop Malueth obtained his license in 2011. From 2011 until now, he has been a licensed advocate. It’s simple math; you can calculate the number of years of experience that adds up,” Stephen said.
“The second point I want to clarify is that according to the timetable provided by the electoral committee, the deadline for raising objections against any candidates was May 11th, and this period has already passed. Today is May 14th, which is beyond the objection deadline. Our colleagues in the Reform and Prosperity group were fully aware of our candidate for the presidency, and they had ample opportunity to submit their objections by May 11th, but they did not,” emphasized Stephen.
He pointed out that Article 20(e) of the election law, which the Reform and Prosperity Team cited in their attempt to disqualify their candidate, does not exist.
“In particular, Paragraph (e) does not appear in the South Sudan election regulations at all. The provision that determines who is eligible to run for the presidency of the South Sudan Bar Association is Article 15(i). Based on Arop’s years of experience since he was licensed in 2011 and all the other requirements outlined, our candidate for the presidency meets all these criteria,” he explained.
Stephen stated that their opponents’ actions are merely an attempt to undermine their campaign.
“All these allegations are part of an unnecessary negative campaign. We urge all our members and supporters of the Advocate Alliance to not be distracted by such baseless accusations. Our focus is on establishing a unified, efficient, and professional bar association in South Sudan, one that does not tolerate such unnecessary games within the South Sudan Bar Association,” he concluded.