The South Sudan National Youth Union on Thursday said it will conduct its third convention in December to elect new leadership.
In December 2019, the second national convention of the youth body was conducted, which brought to power the incumbent President, Gola Boyoi Gola, after the tenure of Dr. Albino Bol Dhieu ended.
Speaking during the unveiling of a strategic plan to conduct elections in Juba on Thursday, Simon Yel Yel, Secretary General of Youth Union, said the convention, which will be conducted from 10 to 17 December 2023, will result in the election of new leadership.
“The process has started today(Thursday), and we are telling the youth of South Sudan that we will write officially to the state youth union chairpersons so that the process can start from the state youth union, but whoever wants to contest in the coming elections, this is the time for him or her now to announce his or her candidacy,” said Simon.
He further said the convention will bring together 195 delegates from the ten states and three administrative areas, adding that each state will send five females out of 15.
“The convention will not be only voting; we will be talking about a lot of things; we will talk about the role of youth in peace and the role of youth in the upcoming national election. Also, we will be having a lot of panel discussions and the elections will be the last item, so we are not starting with elections,” he explained.
For his part, Pia Philip Michael, the Undersecretary for the National Ministry of Peacebuilding, urged the youth to be accountable and do what is suitable for the country.
“We want to encourage you and to tell you that you are the leaders of today, you are not leaders of tomorrow, you are leaders of today, and there is one thing you must do: you must be disciplined to earn the confidence of your community and the people of South Sudan so that you become effective leaders of today. You must be accountable to yourself and what you do for your country, for your community, and how you speak about your country and how you conduct yourself as a leader of today,” said Philip.
South Sudan Youth Union was established in 2011, a month after the country gained independence from Sudan.
The primary aim of its establishment is to bring youth together under one umbrella so that they can collectively present their demands to the government.