A wasted first day in south Sudan

A wasted first day in south Sudan

So it was a bad first day of polling in the south. Or, as one senior official of Salva Kiir, the president of Southern Sudan, said, a wasted day.

Well, he has a point.

Polling stations were still being set up after the official opening hour. Those that did open, did so with at least four hours' delay.

But that was only the first hurdle. Many voters could not find their names on the lists.

Other voting centres did not even get the chance to welcome voters because they were missing ballots, or security personnel or ink.

In this poor region, polling stations consist of tables set up in the shade of giant and magnificent trees.

Waiting idly

It was supposed to be a day of high spirits, instead we found polling staff sitting idly, trying to entertain themselves while waiting endlessly for the ballots or the official closing hour to arrive, whichever came first.

I salute their patience: ten long hours under the African sun, doing nothing but waiting, and waiting and waiting.

Southern Sudan's ruling party (SPLM) alleges irregularities, points the finger at the electoral commission and asks for an extension of the days of vote from 3 to 7.

I don't know whether the chaos happened simply because this is a first-time experience, from the president tdown o the election workers and polling staff and the voters. Or because these were organised irregularities as some allege.