Ballots have been cast and counted in South Sudan, but the potential for post-electoral violence still remains. The results of several hotly contested races for state governor have the potential to spark local violence and even broader conflict in the near future. In a new field dispatch that came out today, Enough’s South Sudan Field Researcher Maggie Fick looks at the political tensions underlying four races in the South.
“The people of southern Sudan deserve credit for participating peacefully in the polls and for accepting the results even in cases where they perceive that the contest was not free and fair,” said Fick in her field dispatch. “Their leaders, particularly the newly elected, SPLM-dominated government in Juba, must follow this example and begin the hard work of resolving some of the local tensions (…) before they turn into much broader conflicts within the South following the referendum.”
Click here to read the field dispatch.