JUBA, APRIL 9, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – A senior member of the main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) has accused the ruling SPLM party of preparing for vote rigging ahead of the anticipated 2024 elections.
This comes after the National Bureau of Statistics released results of a 2021 population estimates survey on Thursday claiming that President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s home state of Warrap has a population of 2.6 million, a 171 percent increase since the 2008 population census which put the state at just less than 1 million.
In a statement extended to Sudans Post, Dut Majokdit, member of SPLM-IO National Liberation Council and Chairperson of Relief and Rehabilitation Commission for Northern Bahr el Ghazal, expressed his concerns over accuracy of the population estimate results.
He stated that the estimated population for ten states and three administrative areas is exaggerated and that a fresh census should be conducted instead of relying on population estimates in order to prevent election manipulation.
“The estimated population for ten states and three administrative areas is exaggerated and I doubt the bureau of statistics on this regard,” he said.
“For elections to take place in the country, there should be fresh census per Peace Agreement instead of estimation to manipulate the whole thing to use 2008 census for conducting election after the end of 24 months,” he added.
Majokdit went on to say that the SPLM-IG has deliberately manipulated the population estimates in order to gain an advantage in the upcoming 2024 elections.
The senior opposition official who is also a close ally of SPLM-IO leader and First Vice President Riek Machar further emphasized that ethnic politics should not be the basis of the election and that political motivation is behind the exaggerated population estimates.
“If there is any political will at all to implement the revitalized peace agreement, we shouldn’t manipulate this process, otherwise we don’t have that population in Northern Bhar El Ghazel State,” the official said.
“SPLM in government done this purposely to manipulate the upcoming elections in 2024. Ethnic politics will not hold water and shall never be the basis of the election. This estimation is Political motivated,” the opposition politician concluded.
