The Tonj (South Sudanese) Community members in Victoria recently organised elections and elected a new executive committee, along with a new chair, Mr Jier Kuol Madhang.
The outgoing chair Peter Bol Makuei congratulated the newly elected committee and the new chair and encouraged them to serve their community well.
Election day at the Tonj Community of Victoria in Melbourne
Many members of the Tonj community participated at the elections and expressed their satisfaction with the way the elections were conducted. Numerous comments posted on facebook indicate an overall satisfaction within the community for a well-organised and peaceful election process.
“It was absolutely very organised election ever and I congratulate the current leader with his team for the work done and I also give a big thank you and congratulations to the new leaders”, one community member commented on facebook.
“All Tonj community members recognise the efforts by the current chairperson and the electoral committee to make this election a successful one. The current leadership team produced a peaceful environment that has allowed the people of Tonj community in Victoria to practice their democratic rights to freely choose their leaders to lead them for the next two years. So, well done.”, commented another Tonj community member.
Elections within many community associations are often quite complicated affairs. Many times, they are done in a climate of tension and even end up splitting groups due to unresolved disagreements. It is encouraging to see that increasingly more African-Australian groups are making process in ensuring that the change of leadership in their associations is done in the most peaceful and democratic way, for the benefit of their community members.
Alex Nyembo
