South Sudan Begins Preparations for General Elections in December

JUBA, Xinhua: South Sudan announced Tuesday that it will begin preparations for parliamentary elections scheduled for December, the East African country’s first since independence.

Following the cessation of a civil war in 2018 and the attainment of independence in 2011, South Sudan was initially scheduled to hold elections before February 2023. However, the transitional government and the opposition agreed to postpone them until late 2024.

Abednego Akok Kacuol, chairperson of the National Elections Commission, told journalists in the national capital of Juba that they have deployed officers across the country and also acquired some vehicles, which are important for mobility.

Akok said the government has released funds to the commission to kick-start the process, and they have prepared a draft calendar that, if approved by stakeholders, will begin voter registration in June.

“The pre-election activities will start with accommodation at the election headquarters in Juba, and then we will go to the 10 states and three administrative areas,” Akok said.

According to the United Nations, South Sudan is scheduled to hold general elections in December at the conclusion of a transitional period that followed a violent civil war that broke out shortly after the country’s independence over a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his then-deputy, Riek Machar. The conflict claimed the lives of approximately 400,000 people.