BENTIU (Sudan) Shouting and dancing, thousands of supporters of south Sudan's rebel turned ruling party waited two days in the blazing sun to see their presidential candidate Salva Kiir.

“We want him to stay as president of the south,” said former guerrilla fighter Peter Kwong, at the election rally for the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Bentiu, the capital of Unity state.

“He was a strong army leader who was never afraid of the fight against the north,” said Kwong, referring to the 22-year-long civil war that ended five years ago.

But the flag-waving supporters in the crowded stadium left deeply disappointed.

Officials said “security concerns” forced Kiir to miss the rally and leave directly after meetings.

It is a sign of the rising tensions ahead of polls next month, Sudan's first multi-party elections in 24 years.

Across the semi-autonomous south, several key supporters of the SPLM have rejected the party's nominees, running instead as independent candidates for the powerful state governor posts, as well as for national, southern and state assembly seats.

Unity, a key oil-producing state about the size of the Netherlands, hosts one of the most fiercely contested governor races.

Incumbent governor and SPLM candidate Taban Deng Gai faces stiff opposition from Angelina Teny, a former colleague turned independent.

“We support Salva Kiir for president of south Sudan, but we want Angelina for governor, because she will bring change,” said Philip Madit, a teacher.

Bentiu is tense, with several people at the rally accusing Gai of using security as an excuse to avoid appearing in front of crowds who appeared to support his rival.

“He didn't want to turn up and see our flags for Angelina, and Kiir could not appear without him,” said Mary Nyakon, wearing a shirt printed with Teny's grinning face.

“But if he (Gai) really can't control security here in the centre of town, that is an even bigger problem.”

The oil rich state is crucial to the future of the semi-autonomous south, which faces a referendum for independence next year.

Support for Kiir is strong, and he is expected to retain easily his post as leader of the south.

But many believe Teny to be a serious contender for governor an energy and mining minister, she is also the wife of the south's vice president Riek Machar, a deputy chairman of the SPLM.

Teny brushes aside the apparent contradiction of the spouse of a top party leader challenging the SPLM's own candidate.

“I am not running against the SPLM — or the system where my husband is,” said Teny, who backs Kiir.

“We are running for change and correction in this particular state.”

She is vying for a powerful position the state earns an estimated million dollars a month from a two-per cent cut of oil pumped from its lands, according to finance ministry figures. Teny is critical of the slow pace of development despite that cash, with even Bentiu lacking the most basic of services.

“Peace should mean clean water, schools, hospitals and stability, but all that is absent here,” said Teny. “People need to see that peace has arrived.”

With contesters challenging party nominees across the south, claiming the nomination process ignored local demands, Kiir has called on the former SPLM candidates to step down “for the sake of the unity of our party.”

Many fear that political battles could trigger violence in the south, which is already reeling from clashes that killed more than 400 people this year.

In 2009, about 2,500 people were killed in southern Sudan — a higher death toll than in the troubled western region of Darfur last year — and more than 350,000 people fled their homes.

“We should learn from the war that if we don't stand together we will fall,” said Gai supporter James Arop, referring to bloody civil war era splits between SPLM factions.

“Now is not the time for this, for we are yet to win independence in the referendum,” Arop added.

Loyalties in the south are often based along tribal or clan lines, while rivalries from the civil war run deep. About two million people were killed in the conflict fuelled by religion, ethnicity, ideology, resources and oil.

“We are worried what will happen if one side refuses to accept the election results,” said Stephen Leer, a student.

Heavy fighting last October saw troops loyal to Gai battle soldiers backing Paulino Matip, a former militia leader turned deputy commander of the south's army.

There is still a gaping hole in the wall of Matip's compound in central Bentiu, where a tank smashed through in a battle that left at least 16 dead, before United Nations' helicopters airlifted Matip's men out.

“The first thing that people say when they come to me is what are we going to do about security?'” said Teny. “It is a big concern.”

Tensions remain also between the mainly Muslim north and the grossly underdeveloped south, most of whose inhabitants are Christian or animist.

Unity borders the north, with a hotly contested frontier cutting through oil fields claimed by both sides.

Meanwhile elders and church leaders make repeated calls for peace.

“Work to maintain peace during the campaign and election period,” said the Catholic Archbishop of Juba, Paolino Lukudu Loro, in a recent sermon.

“For those who will lose, they must accept that their time and opportunity to serve in that area is still ahead.”—AFP