The Political Parties Council (PPC) on Thursday held a consultative dialogue with 29 women representatives from various registered political parties in South Sudan.
Lorna James Elia, the deputy chairperson of the PPC, emphasized that the dialogue aims to enhance women’s and underrepresented groups’ knowledge and strategies for meaningfully participating in constitution-making, peacebuilding, elections, and peace processes.
“We only invited members of political parties who are fully registered. The reason is we want to understand how their recruitment is done, whether their constitution embraced the 35 percent representation of women, and how many women are in the governance system,” she explained. “The Political Parties Act requires that each political party must have at least 500 members drawn from 7 states and 2 administrative areas.”
Supported by UN Women, the dialogue also aims to improve awareness and engagement of electoral stakeholders in promoting inclusive political participation.
James noted that only 27 out of more than 70 political parties in the country have registered, with registration open until six months before the election. She added that political parties that have not registered still have a chance after the extension of the election to 2026.
A recent report by the Center for Inclusive Governance, Peace, and Justice (CIGPJ) highlighted a significant decline in the implementation of gender quotas in South Sudan, raising concerns over the country’s adherence to the 35 percent women’s affirmative action policy.
The report, titled “Women’s Political Participation in South Sudan,” underscores the need to strengthen women’s political participation as a vital component of the nation’s democratic development. Published in October this year, the report calls for South Sudan to adopt a 50:50 gender equality agenda, arguing that the current 35 percent gender quota is insufficient and falls short of international targets for equal representation in decision-making roles.