The Parliamentary Committee for Legislation and Justice on Thursday commenced a two-day stakeholders’ consultation on the proposed amendments to the National Elections Act 2012 (Amendments) Bill 2023.

The meeting, which brought together members of parliament’s legislative committee, National Elections Commission members, professionals, civil society, women, youth,  media, and persons with disabilities, is taking place at Pyramid Hotel in Juba and is being supported by UNDP and UNMISS.

Speaking at the opening of the consultative meeting, Dr. James Mabor Gatkuoth Nyak, the chairperson of parliament’s standing specialized committee on legislation and justice, said the dialogue intends to generate stakeholder inputs on the proposed elections law amendments because having democratic elections requires inclusive participation by all South Sudanese.

He urged the stakeholders to effectively engage in the two days of the consultation and provide as much input as possible on the proposed election law amendments.

“The leadership of the specialized standing committee on legislation and justice wants to embrace inclusive engagement in the elections process,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prof. Abednego Akok, the chairperson of the National Elections Commission (NEC), said the stakeholders’ consultation is essential and requires effective participation by all involved for improving the content of the proposed elections law amendments.

“It is of national interest for the stakeholders to have an effective say on the content of the elections amendments before it is enacted into law,” he said. “The proposed amendments are complex and require compromise from South Sudanese during the process of enacting it into law.”

On behalf of UNMISS, Darren Nance, the Principal Electoral Affairs Officer at UNMISS, said the proposed amendments require serious deliberations among the various South Sudanese constituencies to gain public trust and confidence in the elections process.

“The national ownership of the electoral legal framework and institutional setup is key for the success of the elections. UNMISS and the UN family members are ready to support the government to hold credible elections,” he said. “The UN is urging the government to speed up the process of enacting the legal frameworks and reconstitution of the essential political institutions with a direct mandate for the conduct of elections in December 2024.”

For his part, Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), commended parliament’s legislation committee for holding the consultations.

“These are positive responses to our advocacy and demonstration of a political culture for nurturing public trust and confidence in the legal framework for the conduct of the forthcoming national general election in December 2024,” he said. “Generating inputs from persons with disabilities and other stakeholders is a clear demonstration of political commitment for inclusive representation and participation in the expected elections.”

“CEPO is impressed that our advocacy for inclusion of persons with disabilities in public life, in collaboration with the support of Light for the World, has generated remarkable impact with the engagement of persons with disability in making inputs on the proposed elections laws,” Yakani added.

The workshop will hear presentations from persons with disabilities, youth, women, academia, and invited experts among others on electoral processes in the region and globally.

IGAD and the African Union are also represented at the stakeholders’ consultations.