South Sudan postpones Dec elections by 2 yrs citing incomplete preparations

14/09/2024

South Sudan postpones Dec elections by 2 yrs citing incomplete preparations

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir arrives at Juba’s Presidential Palace, South Sudan on Feb 3, 2023. (AP)

JUBA, South Sudan, Sept 14, (AP): The government in South Sudan has postponed elections scheduled for December for two years citing the need to complete processes such as a census, the drafting of a permanent constitution and the registration of political parties.

The Presidential Adviser on National Security Tut Gatluak on Friday said the extension would provide an opportunity to complete critical processes before the new election date of Dec 22, 2026.

This is the second time the country, which gained independence in 2011, is postponing elections and extending a transitional period that started in February 2020.

President Salva Kiir and his former rival turned deputy, Riek Machar, signed a peace agreement in 2018 that ended a five-year civil war in which more than 400,000 people died.

Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomuro said the extension followed recommendations from both electoral institutions and the security sector.

Last month, the chairperson of National Election Commission, Prof. Abednego Akok, told the Associated Press the country was behind the electoral calendar which required voter registration to have started in June but was still pending due to a shortage of funds.

The country is going through an economic crisis that has seen civil servants go unpaid for almost one year, after it’s oil exports were affected by a damaged pipeline in war-torn neighboring Sudan through which it exports.