South Sudan’s plan to hold elections next year risks "deepening" an already devastating conflict, the UN Mission in the country warned, barely two weeks after the government vowed, despite the ongoing civil war in the nation, to hold elections next year.
“I think if we had premature elections before all the procedures are put in place and before there was real peace, then that would be a problem,” David Shearer, the head of UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), told reports in Juba on Thursday.
The top UN official advised South Sudan to delay elections until the ongoing civil war ends. “In June, I spoke at the Heads of State meeting for IGAD and we said that it is important that elections are held where free and fair elections can take place for them to be credible elections and for them to be able to contribute to resolving the conflict here,” he said.
“I think it is important that we work through the peace process, that we have good conditions on the ground to enable an election to take place that can be seen as free and fair and people can have confidence in,” he added.
The United States last week imposed sanctions on two senior government members, a former military official accused of undermining peace, security and stability in the world’s youngest nation.