South Sudan’s National Elections Commission (NEC) and the Political Parties Council (PPC) held a meeting with South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa to brief him on the election preparedness ahead of the December polls.
“We briefed him about the latest development regarding what the National Elections Commission is doing regarding elections. We told him that the team has now gone to the states to see the structures there, build them and then they will come back,” NEC Chairperson Prof. Abednego Akok said at a press conference on Thursday.
“We told him we were ready to do our job based on the law. And I think it is another privilege to tell you that the election law must be read well. The law says when it remains six months, the election date must be declared, and the peace agreement says when it remains two months before the end of the transition, elections must be conducted,” he added.
For his part, James Akol Zakayo, the Chairperson of the Political Parties Council, said the meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa focused on operational matters related to the conduct of elections in December this year.
“We have talked about the ongoing registration processes for the political parties. Also, we have talked about the preparation for the parties aspiring to participate in the elections, and we have talked about concerns of the stakeholders involved in the processes we conduct,” he explained.
He continued, “We have also talked of the urgency of the necessary funding of the parties that are aspiring to participate in the elections, and we have also asked the current parties to hurry up and speed up the process of reintegration so that the process of the elections take place on time.”
South Sudan is expected to hold elections in December this year. For the first time, South Sudanese will get the chance to vote for a president, members of parliament, and several local offices.
President Salva Kiir, who also doubles as chairman of the ruling SPLM Party, has been insisting that the country will hold general elections in December 2024 in accordance with the peace roadmap, despite misgivings from some stakeholders.
Among those with misgivings is First Vice President and SPLM-IO Chairman, Dr Riek Machar, who maintains that the country cannot hold free and fair general elections if critical tasks of the 2018 peace agreement, such as security arrangements and a permanent constitution, have not been completed.