The chairperson of South Sudan’s National Election Commission (NEC) has told governors from the ten states to prepare for general elections in 2015.

Speaking at the fourth State Governors’ Forum, which opened Monday and lasts four days, NEC chair Abednego Akol Kacuol said: “We should be prepared now for the announcement and the declaration of the election date as soon as the commission completes the establishment of the state committees.”

Akol noted that the public should be made aware through civic and voter education messages that preparations for the general elections are near. They should also be informed of the voting age, he added.

Akol said the Governors’ Forum is a good place to begin exchanging ideas and planning for the 2015 polls and that the governors should ensure peace in their states because the time to prepare for elections is running short.

Responding to criticism from local and international observers that an election cannot be run during a civil war, Akol said studies have been conducted that show a number of countries have conducted elections while in crisis. 

Loyalists of Salva Kiir have been pushing for elections next year because Kiir’s term in office as president ends in July 2015.

Radio Tamazuj Photo: Delegates at the fourth Governors' Forum in Juba