By Kur madul de Jongkuc
BOR, 20 December 2009 (Gurtong) -The college would be receiving, scrutinising and screening the applicants based on the matrix provided by the SPLM nominations guidelines.
The state Electoral College elected comrade Gatkouth Tiop Bol as its chairperson with comrade David Malual Wuor as secretary.
The busiest state electoral college is scheduled to close receiving applicants’ application forms on 31 December and would soon hand in the state provisional candidates’ lists to SPLM headquarters in Juba at a date not beyond 4 January 2010 for final approval by SPLM political bureau.
Nevertheless, SPLM contestants for the position of President of the Republic of Sudan were conditioned to be SPLM diehards for at least 15 years serving the movement while for president of the Government of South Sudan, the candidate must have been in SPLM for not less than 10 years.
Additionally, state governors should at least be members of SPLM on period not below three years and state legislative assembly candidates should at least be in SPLM for a year.
The move is being seen by analysts as a threat and bitter pill for those who have just joined the movement ahead of the general elections.
The State SPLM chairperson comrade Kuol Manyang Juuk defended the new guidelines and encouraged newcomers not to lose hope as SPLM is a massive party.
“Those who joined us shouldn’t get discouraged by the party membership period requirement. SPLM, in unity of its diversity, is our mother party and we would always consult”, he said.
In related news, six NCP members in Jonglei led by the State Minister of Health Dr Agot Alier Leek have defected to SPLM.
They were received by the State SPLM chairperson comrade Kuol Manyang Juuk and a host of GoSS and state ministers.