The leader of South Sudan’s Democratic Change (DC) Party, Onyoti Adigo Nyikuac, has called upon all political parties to unanimously agree to go for the General Elections scheduled for December 2024.
Speaking during the commemoration of the DC Party’s 15th anniversary, he said elections should go ahead as planned in December despite the slow implementation of the peace agreement.
“The Democratic Change Party is for peace, unity, and democratic transformation of the country and we call upon all political parties and the people of South Sudan to accept going for elections,” Adigo said.
The opposition politician also urged the non-signatories to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement to join hands with the government of national unity to bring peace and stability to the country. He however pointed out that some opposition parties are rejecting to go for elections because they cannot register due to having military wings.
“I will say they (parties) are right to reject because you cannot go for elections without registering your party and there are some of these parties who have got military wings and if you have got a military wing, you cannot be registered as a political party,” he stated. “So, the best thing is to implement the security arrangements by taking all the forces they have to cantonment areas so that they are deployed and they remain without the armed wing. Then, you will have one commander-in-chief who is president of the Republic of South Sudan.”
South Sudan is planning general elections in December this year to choose leaders to succeed the current unity government, which includes President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar.
In 2022, the parties to the 2028 peace deal said the transitional government would remain in power for another two years, delaying scheduled general elections.
However, several observers say any sort of election will only happen in December 2024 if all parties and stakeholders agree on critical pending issues for the conduct of elections.
The main opposition group, the SPLM-IO which is led by First Vice President Riek Machar, said it has established that preconditions for holding credible and free polls in December are not in place, threatening to boycott the upcoming elections.