By Matthew Russell Lee
LONDON, October 5 -- While Khartoum's backsliding is the storyline of the UN Security Council's trip now to Sudan, some of the delay in starting registration is due to decisions by the US and UN, sources tell Inner City Press.
The registration materials are, as widely reported, being printed in South Africa. But why? The US promoted procurement practices and IFES, either because committed to transparency or to keep Khartoum from creating mischief in this way. But the move has resulted in delay. The materials won't be ready until late October. Then they have to be transported all over South Sudan.
In fact, barely half of the polling places will be in South Sudan: 2000. Fully 1600 will be in the North of overseas. No one knows how many Southerns are living in the North. One fear is that the North will over-register them, or create names without voters behind them, to make it impossible to reach the 60% turn out necessary in order to have the secession vote count.
There are questions too about the cost of the elections. Experts tell Inner City Press that the rule of thumb, if there is one, for post-conflict votes is form $10 to $ 15 per voter. Assuming an electorate of 4 to 5 million, this vote should cost $75 million tops. But it is now budgeted for $360 million. Where will the money go?
Most troubling is the failure not only of the UN but now also the US to speak out about the rising rate of death in Darfur.
There is a sense that the suffering in Darfur was raised to gain leverage over Omar al Bashir, and is now being ignored or traded in, for the seemingly more important North - South referendum. It will be hard to rebut this. Watch this space.
Footnote: in John F. Kennedy airport, Inner City Press ran into the Permanent Representatives of Mexico, Turkey and Bosnia, preparing for the flight. Ambassador Heller of Mexico said even he hadn't yet read the full terms of reference of the Security Council's trip, which Inner City Press had just obtained and put online. The trip is being run by two countries, and maybe one and a half. They will have to own also the results.
