Do not confuse presidential elections with the general elections

During my tour in Kampala, (Uganda), I met and talked to a couple of youths especially Sudanese students who attend their school there.

Following the withdraw of Yassir Saeed Arman, the SPLM candidate, from the presidential race, most of the students in Uganda I talked to, think it is no longer necessary to come and vote.

The Embassy of the Republic of Sudan in Kampala (Uganda) early this year was issuing out voter registration slips mostly to the eligible students who live and go to school in Uganda. Although it is not clear how many people registered in preparation for the upcoming elections, it is no doubt that hundreds of students did register. And the Embassy promised that they would cater for these people's transport to and fro in order to give them opportunity to come and vote.

I had a chance to talk to some of the students I met at the Embassy of the Republic of Sudan in Kampala last week. Most of them seemed confused. And some of them did not know whether it was even necessary to come and vote, since SPLM had pulled out of the presidential race. One anonymous source told me, "as soon as I had about this bad news, I threw my registration slip in the pit latrine."

There are many other students who confessed that it was not necessary to vote, arguing that they only knew two candidates contesting for the presidency of the Republic of Sudan. "Now that Yassir Arman has dropped out that means the other candidate remains unopposed whether or without my vote," one added.

According to many of these students I talked to; argue that the parliamentary elections do not carry a lot of meaning. So it is the presidential elections that would make these elections real.

Zakayo Edward is just one of the Sudanese students in Uganda. He goes to Ebenezer Senior Secondary School along Entebbe road. He is in Form four. Initially he was very excited that he was going to vote, since it was going to be his very first time to elect a leader of his joice. And he just could not wait. But now he is disappointed. Things turned unexpectedly. "SPLM has let me down! They (SPLM) disappointed me," he said.

On the registration slip it is clearly indicated in both English and Arabic:

"Keep this slip safe! Bring it when you vote!" But it is absurd that people especially the Sudanese students attending their school in Uganda have started throwing theirs away!

There is need to tell all eligible voters to remain calm, since these elections are much more than just electing presidents.