What is SPLM's election position, withdrawal or participation?

After the sudden withdrawal of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) presidential candidate Saeed Yasir Arman from the campaign race without explanation to his supporters, majority of the party supporters are threatening not to vote should their candidate fail to return to the arena.

The supporters who mostly surprise of the poor northerners, Southern Sudanese slums dwellers in the North, and Southern University students in the North seem to have one voice calling the former rebels to reverse their decision of withdrawing their candidate.

“Who am I going to vote? If it were in the South I will vote for the president of the government of South Sudan, governor and others but who am I going to vote here I better read my books during the election day than going to stand wasting my time on people who oppress us” South Sudanese Juba university student said.

He stressed that it will be upon those who will choose to be refugees in their own homeland, slaves to foreign aid just because discrimination and poor governance that invest in war than peace. “I have been a refugee and I am still a refugee in my motherland, we are vulnerable people with a government that cares about war hard wears than its citizen, our resources are for military hard wears use in killing us also, why should I then vote, if I don’t have a choice, I refer to be silent and watch them vote”

Musa Adams a resident of Hai Yusif said he was ready to sell his voters’ card to those who were looking for the cards. According to him his votes’ card was precious before but it turned useless after the withdrawal of SPLM. “I want to sell this card (showing) to those who use to buy them here, who will I vote for? They scared Yasir and he has withdrawn, I will vote only if he is here to tells us am back, I will not go any polling station” He said in Arabic

Majority of SPLM supporters who openly come out to support the party in Khartoum calm they live in agony, they calm to be fearing the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) should it come back to power they will be targeted by the security.

“The SPLM has good programmes I was strongly behind them but I we did not know what has happened perhaps they would have come to tell us here; they have betrayed us to those supporters of other parties, I live in fear for my life and family because the security intelligent know that am an SPLM supporte”

Supporters of this party both in the North and South are in dilemma about the fate of the party, some top party leaders are distancing themselves from the withdrawal while others call for the party supporters to vote for their presidential candidate.

Malik Agar the deputy chairman of the party and the governor of Blue Nile state said the decision to withdraw from the election was only in the presidency post and Darfur region not for all legislative posts in the North as announced by the party secretariat.

The minister of cabinet affairs in the government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) Dr.Luka Tombekana Monoja also said the party supporters should vote for Yasir Arman for the presidency of Sudan since his name will appear in the ballot box, the question SPLM need to answer is, if the people will vote for Yasir who is not interested in the Sudan’s presidency, Who then will be the president since Yasir doesn’t want and people wanted him?

The masses are in dilemma where party is standing, withdrawal or participation; if withdrawals then come out to them to tell them your stand.