OPINIONS

Ruweng Cannot Be an Afterthought: Why the 2010 Electoral Map Fails Our Present and Our Future

In a nation still struggling to steady itself after years of conflict and delayed political milestones, few decisions strike at the heart of public trust more deeply than the National Elections Commission’s recent declaration that South Sudan will return to the 2010 constituency boundaries for the 2026 general elections. With this act—rooted in legal necessity yet blind to current realities—the NEC has once again placed the Ruweng Administrative Area (RAA) under the umbrella of Unity State, granting the two a joint total of seven constituencies. [radiotamazuj.org], [eyeradio.org]

To many in Ruweng, this is not simply an administrative inconvenience; it is a painful echo of a political past that still haunts the community.

A Legacy Shaped by Pre‑Independence Politics

The 2010 elections, conducted under Sudan’s national framework before South Sudan’s independence in 2011, were the last electoral cycle to produce a full geographical constituency map. It was during this period that the territory now recognized as the Ruweng Administrative Area was still fully integrated within Unity State. The political climate of that time was marked by intense factional competition, unresolved grievances, and power struggles between regional leaders—conditions that left communities like Ruweng feeling politically sidelined and vulnerable.

It is this historical backdrop that makes today’s decision so troubling. The NEC has invoked the National Elections Act (2012, amended 2023), which compels the Commission to revert to the 2010 boundaries when a fresh census is unavailable.
The December 10, 2025 R‑ARCSS agreement then cleared the path by allowing elections to proceed without the long‑delayed census or the completed permanent constitution, obligating the NEC to fall back on the old map. [radiotamazuj.org], [refworld.org] [szn.ss], [onecitizendaily.com]

But a legal requirement does not erase the fact that this map was drawn before Ruweng had its own distinct administrative identity, before civil war reshaped demographic patterns, and before the people of South Sudan gained the sovereign right to envision a fairer political future.

2010: A Turning Point That Still Shadows Today

For Ruweng, the 2010 elections are not a distant memory—they are an unresolved trauma. Though the NEC’s decision does not explicitly reference the political struggles of that era, its impact resurrects them. The community recalls how internal contests in Unity State overshadowed local political priorities and destabilized communities on the margins. That experience convinced many Ruweng residents that being subsumed under Unity State’s political weight left them without meaningful representation.

Now, by reaffirming Unity and Ruweng as a combined political block, the NEC risks re‑entrenching precisely the dynamic that people in Ruweng have rejected for more than a decade.

The Present Cannot Be Governed by the Map of Yesterday

South Sudan today is not the Sudan‑governed South of 2010. The creation of the Ruweng Administrative Area, along with multiple other territorial redesignations that have taken place throughout the post‑independence period, reflects an attempt to give political identity and administrative clarity to communities long overshadowed by larger states.

Yet the NEC’s declaration explicitly states that Unity State, including the Ruweng Administrative Area, has been assigned seven constituencies, effectively restoring a pre‑independence configuration.
In doing so, the Commission dismisses the lived history of the last fifteen years—years in which boundaries have shifted, populations have moved, and Ruweng has established itself as a distinct administrative and cultural region. [radiotamazuj.org], [sudanindependent.net]

This is more than a technical oversight—it is a political erasure.

The Law May Bind the Commission, but It Cannot Silence the People

Supporters of the NEC’s position point to the legal constraints: without a census, no new constituencies can be created, and the Commission is bound to the last valid map. Indeed, legal analyses confirm that constituency creation is impossible without updated demographic data. [csrf-southsudan.org], [suddinstitute.org]

But even if the law restricts boundary changes, it does not forbid acknowledging the representational inequities produced by resurrecting a fifteen‑year‑old electoral map. It does not forbid the NEC or political stakeholders from adopting mitigation measures, such as advocacy through R‑ARCSS structures or negotiations for proportional representation safeguards.

Observers and civic advocates have repeatedly warned that using the 2010 framework risks misrepresenting communities, diluting local voices, and reviving historical power imbalances—issues that touch Ruweng directly. [eyeradio.org], [eyeradio.org]

History Is Warning Us. We Must Listen.

South Sudan stands at a defining moment. Our nation has never held a fully competitive national election since independence, and the 2026 vote is widely seen as a test of our political maturity and commitment to peace. Yet no credible election can emerge from a framework that knowingly disenfranchises communities by forcing them into old administrative molds that no longer reflect who they are.

For Ruweng, the message is unmistakable:
We cannot allow the political dynamics of 2010 to dictate the political realities of 2026.

To do so would betray not only the past sacrifices of the Ruweng people but also the national promise of equitable representation made to every citizen when South Sudan became an independent nation in 2011.

A Call for Electoral Dignity and Historical Honesty

The people of Ruweng are not demanding special treatment. They are demanding recognition—recognition of their administrative identity, their political rights, and their historical experiences. They reject a return to the 2010 structure because they lived through its consequences.

If our electoral institutions are to be respected, they must show respect in return.
If our democracy is to be credible, it cannot be built on outdated boundaries that erase present-day realities.
And if our peace is to endure, it must include every community as an equal stakeholder in South Sudan’s future.

Ruweng has drawn a clear line. It is time for the NEC and political stakeholders to acknowledge it—not as an act of defiance, but as a demand for justice.