The visiting Norwegian Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, Jon Anton Johnson, called on the political leaders to reconstitute key institutions to prepare for elections in December 2024.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Juba on Friday, Special Envoy Johnson said Political Party Council, National Elections Commission, and Constitutional Review Commission are key bodies necessary to run the country’s elections.
“When it comes to elections, it is very much about political will and about establishing the institutions needed for running elections, including the National Elections Commission, Political Party Council, and other key institutions,” Johnson said while concluding his two-day visit to Juba.
During this visit, Special Envoy Johnson engaged in high-level discussions with President Salva Kiir, First Vice President Riek Machar, other senior government officials, and key stakeholders, including civil society representatives.
The Norwegian diplomat expressed worry that the prerequisites for free, fair, and credible elections still need to be implemented.
“It is a worry that these institutions are not in place yet, and the peace agreement implementation is lagging behind. For the time being, the conditions for holding elections are not in place, so a lot of things have to be done, and the political decision has to be made and implemented. I have been assured during the meetings that this will happen, but it remains to be seen,” he said.
For her part, Linken Nymann Berryman, Norwegian Ambassador to South Sudan, said: “We are very focused on the security also that goes along with an open political and civil space must be supported by security that people feel safe to say what they need to say with a feeling of rights to say for the betterment of this country.”
South Sudan was meant to conclude a transition period with elections in February 2023, but the unity government failed to meet key provisions of the agreement, including drafting a constitution.
The parties to the agreement extended the transitional government’s time in office for another two years, meaning general elections would be held in December 2024.