The United States, Britain and Norway on Wednesday urged South Sudan to prioritize the publication of a credible election timetable and commence voter registration as an essential first step.
The three nations, known as the Troika, expressed the sentiments in a press release following their meeting in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, in which they reaffirmed their profound disappointment with the decision of the Government of South Sudan to extend its transitional status.
“The leaders of South Sudan have demonstrated a lack of political will and have instead conserved power in the hands of small elite. The international community must be clear that we will not support a status quo that promotes the privileges of a few over the welfare of the people of South Sudan,” reads the press release.
The press release said the Oslo meeting also received briefings from the Kenya-based Tumaini Secretariat and UNMISS, which helped to inform their discussions, with further participation from the EU in deliberations.
“Troika partners agreed that a credible timetable of election preparations should be published by the government as a priority, and we call on the government to commence voter registration as an essential first step. We further committed to collaborate on engagement with International Financial Institutions, to make it clear that the government must urgently undertake to manage public finances responsibly, transparently and to ensure accountability for the funding of essential services and other institutions,” press release further reads.
The Troika partners warned that impunity for human rights violations must end, and that they would continue to call for removal of the recent amendments to the National Security Service (NSS) Act, which authorizes warrant-free detentions and arrests, and other measures, which restrict civil and political space.
They agreed that South Sudan’s leaders’ actions in the weeks would demonstrate whether they have the political will to meet their long overdue commitments within the current extension period.
The Troika partners further vowed to continue to stand with the people of South Sudan in their journey towards democracy.
Last month, South Sudan’s government again postponed its scheduled elections, originally planned for December 2024, by another 24 months, pushing the election to 2026. The postponement follows a history of failed attempts to conduct elections in the country.
A transitional unity government, established in February 2020 under a 2018 revitalized peace agreement, was tasked with overseeing the transitional period and ensuring free and fair elections by the end of the transition.