Democracy must start locally

According to MS, the government of Southern Sudan must give high priority to the development of local democratic structures if democracy is to make sense for the individual Southern Sudanese.

By Janne Bruvoll, information officer, MS Sudan

26. October 2009

Southern Sudan is a fragile state in which the challenges for the newly established Government of Southern Sudan are immense. Ongoing political skirmishes with Khartoum, a volatile balance of power within the south, lack of capacity and resources, continued insecurity and local conflicts are among the many challenges facing the government as it is in the middle of a democratization process launched by the signing of a peace agreement in 2005.

Political influence and democracy is what the rebel movement was fighting for in the more than 20 year long civil war but despite the promising peace agreement with the Sudanese government, the building of democracy is making slow progress in the semiautonomous Southern Sudan. Most emphasis is put on establishing and strengthening the central government institutions but MS finds this to be a wrong approach.

“Of course, a central government is important but in a new country like Southern Sudan, it is crucial to secure local democratic structures because it is on the local level, democracy will make sense for the people and it is on the local level, people will be able to feel included in the democratic system. Only if you start locally, will you achieve a strong democracy. Another reason why local democracy is important for Southern Sudan is that it is practically hopeless to think that you can establish a national identity in such a complex society as Southern Sudan. A decentralized political system and administration would be much more capable of curbing local conflicts and internal mistrust,” says director of MS Sudan Lars Anderskouv.

Learn from Uganda
MS believes that Southern Sudan with great advantage could seek inspiration from their neighbours to the south. In Uganda, local Resistance Councils were established during the war in the 1980’s while a national parliament was created later. And when Uganda in the 1990’s underwent a decentralisation reform, the point of departure was the already well-known local Resistance Councils. Southern Sudan, on the other hand, chose to dissolve the existing local councils when the peace agreement was signed. Instead, new councils with appointed members were established as a temporary solution until the citizens got the chance to elect their local leaders.

“The interim councils have now existed for more than four years because it has taken the parliament a very long time to reach an agreement on the Local Government Act setting the framework for the decentralisation process. Now, the law is finally passed but the process has still not begun and the local elections are still not scheduled,” says Lars Anderskouv.

Government of Self Service
Lars Anderskouv thinks there is more than one reason for the delay in the decentralisation process in Southern Sudan.

“I believe that there are two major reasons why it is difficult for the Southern Sudanese politicians to prioritise local democracy. First of all, everyone wants to make the most out of the situation and therefore, they try to grab positions, jobs and money for themselves and their families. At the same time, they want to be in a strong position against the Sudanese government which is easier if they have a central leadership. Unfortunately, this just leads to a growing mistrust and division locally,” says Lars Anderskouv. He continues:

“If the Southern Sudanese government does give higher priority to the development of local democracy, the people’s political disappointment and apathy will increase. It says a lot that GoSS (Government of Southern Sudan, edit.) often is called Government of Self Service. In the local communities, people still cannot feel the positive development that they were promised after the peace agreement.”

In Southern Sudan, MS supports the strengthening of local democracy. Here, you can read more about Southern Sudan and how MS deals with the challenges working in a fragile state.