Sudan: 2011 Southern Sudan Referendum Commission

Updated January 2011

Official websites

The Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) was mandated by the Interim Constitution of the Republic of Sudan (2005, Article 220(2); "The Presidency shall, as soon as Southern Sudan Referendum Act is issued, establish Southern Sudan Referendum Commission") to effect the prevision of Article 222 that required that a referendum be conducted for the people of Southern Sudan to determine whether it should become an independent state or to remain an autonomous region within the Republic of Sudan. Accordingly the SSRC was established by the Southern Sudan Referendum Act with its headquarters in Khartoum and a bureau in Juba (2009, 8). The Southern Sudan Referendum Act (2009, 9) provides that the SSRC be financially, administratively and technically independent, that it perform its mandate independently, impartially, transparently and with integrity and that no one interferes in its affairs, duties and competencies or limits its power.

Composition

The SSRC was composed of nine members, including a Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson, appointed by the President with the consent of the Vice President (ie the President of Southern Sudan) and the ratification of the National Legislature by a simple majority (Sudan Referendum Act 2009, 10(1)). This section also requires that appointments must ensure the representation of women and civil society organisations. The Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson serve on a full time bases (Sudan Referendum Act 2009, 10(4)). Members of the Commission are required to take an oath of office as laid out in section 13 of the Sudan Referendum Act 2009.

Members of the SSRC must be (Sudan Referendum Act 2009, 10(2)):

Sudanese,
independent, competent, non-partisan and impartial,
at least years old,
of sound mind,
literate, and
never been convicted in the previous seven years of a crime involving honesty or moral turpitude, even if pardoned.

Removals and vacancies

A Commissioner may be dismissed from office by the President with the consent of the Vice President for three reasons (Sudan Referendum Act 2009, 12):

Absence from five consecutive ordinary meetings without permission or acceptable excuse (on meetings see section 15), on a report submitted by the SSRC;
conviction of a crime "involving honesty or moral turpitude", based on notification by the SSRC; or
for incompetence, on the recommendation of the SSRC.

If a post on the NEC falls vacant, as a result of dismissal, resignation, certified mental or physical incapacity or death, a successor is appointed within 30 days in the same way that SSRC members are appointed (Sudan Referendum Act 2009, 11).

Term of Office

The SSRC term expires at the end of the interim period (Sudan Referendum Act 2009, 10(3)).

Functions

The SSRC has the following functions (Sudan Referendum Act 2009, 14):

To organise and monitor the referendum;
undertake voter registration, generate voters' rolls and issue registration cards;
determine static and mobile registration/polling stations;
issue regulations and procedures for executive measures, organisation and observer accreditation;
control counting processes and results aggregations as well as announce the final result;
cancel results by court order where corruption in procedures has been determined, rectify faults and conduct fresh polls within seven days;
disseminate forms and documents used in polling in national and official languages;
act against corrupt practices and against employees who contravene legal provisions;
prepare, design and print ballot sheets;
form subordinate structures (see below) and recruit staff; and
perform any other functions necessary to the conduct of the referendum.

Commissioners

The SSRC members were (SSRC 2010):

Prof Mohamed I. Khalil (Chairperson)
Chan Reec Madut (Deputy Chairperson)
Ambassador Sabit Abbe Alley
Lual Chany Chol
Paulino Wanawilla Unango
Dr Deng Awur Wenyin
Dr Soad Ibrahim Issa
Gen Tariq Osman Altahir
Gen Kamal Ali Saleh
Ambassador Mohamed Osman El- Nujumi (Secretary General)
Dr Mom Kou Nhial Arou (Assistant Secretary General)

Structures

The SSRC has the following structures (Southern Sudan Referendum Act 2009, 8(3), 10(4), 18, 19, 22):

The Commission Headquarters headed by the Chairperson.
The Southern Sudan Referendum Bureau is chaired by the Deputy Chairperson and has four other members appointed by the SSRC on the recommendation of the Deputy Chair.
The Secretariat General headed by a Secretary General appointed on the recommendation of the SSRC by the President with the consent of the Vice President. The Secretary General is answerable for the performance of executive, financial and administrative functions.
Referendum High Committees are formed in the states of Southern Sudan composed of a Chairperson and four members, subject to the same qualifications as Commissioners, appointed by the Chairperson on the recommendation of the Deputy Chairperson (ie Chairperson of the Southern Sudan Bureau).
Referendum Sub-Committees in the counties are formed by High Committees with the consent of the Southern Sudan Bureau.
Referendum Centres Committees are formed by the Southern Sudan Bureau on the recommendations of the High Committees.

Immunity of NEC members

A Commissioner is immune from prosecution in the performance of duties unless a crime has been committed and then only with the permission of the President (Southern Sudan Referendum Act 2009, 17).

Finances, funding and accounting

The annual budget is drawn up in compliance with the standards adopted by the state, is approved by the SSRC and is submitted to the Presidency for inclusion in the annual general budget by the Chairperson (Southern Sudan Referendum Act 2009, 14(2)(o), 16(1)(f), 20(1)). The Secretary General is required to open an account with a nationally approved bank and deposit all revenues into the account, to ensure that only properly authorised withdrawals are made and to ensure that proper, up to date, financial records based are kept on the basis of sound accounting; the SSRC is required to ensure that regular records and accounts of revenues and expenditure are kept on the basis of sound accounting and in conformance with the Financial and Accounting Procedures Act 2007 (Southern Sudan Referendum Act 2009, 19(4); 20(2),(3)). The SSRC's financial accounts are subject to annual audits under the auspices of the National Audit Chamber as well as at the end of the referendum process and the audit reports are to be submitted to the National Assembly (Southern Sudan Referendum Act 2009, 21).

Official websites

Southern Sudan Referendum Commission: [www] http://www.ssrc.sd/SSRC2/ [opens new window] (accessed 20 Jan 2011).

"Results for the Referendum of Southern Sudan", Southern Sudan Referendum Commission: [www] http://southernsudan2011.com/ [opens new window] (accessed 20 Jan 2011).

References

INTERIM CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SUDAN 2005, [www] http://www.sudan-embassy.de/c_Sudan.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 19 Jan 2011).

SOUTHERN SUDAN REFERENDUM COMMISSION 2010 "List of Referendum Committees in Northern Sudan States", [www] http://www.ssrc.sd/SSRC2/State_High_Committees.php [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 20 Jan 2011).

SOUTHERN SUDAN REFERENDUM ACT 2009, [www] http://www.ssrc.sd/SSRC2/newsphoto/en-act.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 20 Jan 2011).