Advocate Atong Majok Kur - Courtesy

Some female lawyers said their absence from the race to the leadership of the Bar Association is due to the ten-year nomination criteria and the challenging working environment in the country.

Two groups calling themselves Reform and Prosperity, and Advocates Alliance are contesting for President, Deputy President and Secretary General of the Bar Association.

Advocate Reech Ring from the Reform and Prosperity, and Arop Maluth of Advocates Alliance are contesting for the association’s presidency.

Mut Turuk and Malesh Stanley of the Reform and Prosperity group are vying for vice president and Secretary General respectively.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Abraham and Stephen Martin are eying their respective positions.

There is no single female candidate among them.

The none participation of female lawyers has sparked online debates with many social media users questioning the process.

Advocate Atong Majok Kur from the Reform and Prosperity Group says the criteria set by the electoral committee requiring 10 years of experience prevented some female lawyers from contesting.

“There are certain criteria, for example; Article 15 talks about the eligibility criteria for the president and the vice president, which includes years of experience. It stipulates that there must be at least 10 years of experience for both positions,” said Advocate Atong.

“Some female lawyers wanted to compete and participate in the election. However, their years of practising the profession prevented them from doing so, along with the issue of regional representation,” she said.

“As for the Secretary-General, the requirement is seven years or more of experience, but regional representation is also an issue.

“Some of them desired to compete, but the criteria did not allow them to proceed to this stage.”

For her part, Suhila Deng, the head of the Advocate Alliance election campaign said some females lost interest in the democratic exercise due to the challenging working environment in South Sudan.

“One of the reasons that hinders the candidacy of women lawyers for the position of the Bar Association is the years of experience approved by the Bar Association Elections Committee, which requires at least 10 years of experience in the field,” Suhila said.

“We must mention that after the secession of the South, there were not many female lawyers participating in the field due to the work environment. Some were paid to work in companies and institutions,” she said.

The Bar Association electoral body declared the commencement of the campaigns on Wednesday, May 22, 2024.