The Reform and Prosperity team in the recently concluded South Sudan Bar Association elections has conceded defeat but criticized the High Electoral Body for “poorly handling the electoral process.”
On Wednesday night, the chairperson of the High Electoral Committee for the South Sudan Bar Association, Justice Kulang Gurbang, announced that Arop Malueth Monoon of the Advocates Alliance won the election with 719 votes, while the Reform and Prosperity team received 700 votes.
Reacting to the results on Thursday evening in Juba, Mut Turuk Thok, the Deputy Presidential Candidate for the Bar Association from the Reform and Prosperity team, accused the High Electoral Committee of rigging.
“When our agent came out, it was because they had discovered an extra 21 votes. These extra 21 votes appeared without anyone inside being aware of their origin. That’s why we rejected the result last night, stating this election was not free and fair. To our dismay, Justice Kulang Gurbang and his colleagues, Dr. Yomon Santino and Ajo Noel, were involved. History will reflect that they participated, and we have evidence because they are the only ones who know where these 21 votes came from,” Turuk said.
“We rejected the results last night. You were all witnesses to how the result was announced and the discrepancies in the figures. The final figures announced by the electoral committee didn’t even mention the invalid votes, indicating clear rigging. History will record that Molana Justice Kulang Gurbang and his two colleagues rigged the elections of the bar association,” reiterated Turuk.
The Reform and Prosperity team’s Presidential candidate Reech Riing stated that their team accepted the election results to promote unity among lawyers; otherwise, they would have pursued legal action.
He congratulated the Advocates Alliance candidate on their victory and promised to work with them. “As the Reform and Prosperity group, we decided to congratulate our brother Adv. Arop Malueth for taking the lead in this profession. This is not because we have confidence in the electoral procedure but for the sake of public interest,” he said.
He further stated, “The Bar Association has been in a dilemma since 2014. As Reform and Prosperity, we do not want to object or take any steps, despite the legal loopholes and challenges faced during this process.”
Riing also questioned the legitimacy of the electoral process, saying it wasn’t conducted fairly. “We discovered 21 extra votes, which in any electoral process, can be a reason to annul the entire election. However, we feel the need to support this profession and have decided to unify the body under one umbrella,” he added.