By: Madrama James
King News 16th September – South Sudan’s Transitional government announced that the long-awaited elections in December 2024 would be postponed for two more years.
The decision has triggered mixed reactions among political parties, civic groups, and citizens alike, many of whom see it as a direct threat to democracy.
The leadership said, according to the presidential adviser on national security, Tut Gatluak, “It needed more time to complete processes such as a census, the drafting of a permanent constitution and the registration of political parties before an election could be held. ”
Speaking to reporters today at SPLM House Juba, Peter Lam Both, SPLM Secretary General, cited that the financial institutions lack the required money and have been unable to pay off even salaries for the last nine months across the country.
“The institutions of finance were called to come and tell us whether they have the finance necessary for the conduct of the election this year. The answer from them as they don’t have money for the election. As a matter of fact, they don’t have money even to pay nine months salaries. And because of that reason, it became very difficult for us as “SPLM”- (Sudan People Liberation Movement.) to tell the people that let us go for election when there’s no money for it. That’s what made us accept the eighteen-month extensions as a party.”
This is the second time South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011, has postponed general elections and extended a transitional period that started in February 2020.
According to Lam, some other peace parties were demanding an extension exceeding the average twenty-four-month period.
But the SPLM official is also urging his party members to accept the consensus reached by the leadership and double efforts in resource mobilization for the conduct of general elections in 2026.
“Some other parties said eighteen months is small, and they needed twenty-four months. SPLM-IO insisted on twenty-six to thirty months. So, we could not agree, but in the end, of course, the average was taken by the leadership of this country. And the average was twenty-four months. Eighteen months for the mechanism to do their work and six months to look for funds for the elections; six months start now! We must look for money between now and February 2025 so that this mechanism can do its work and the elections can take place on December 22nd, 2026.”
some citizens are calling on international community to exert more pressure on the government to implement the remaining task in the agreement, others are urging for calm and understanding while the authorities navigate these challenges.
However, SPLM Secretary General furthermore, refuted public allegations saying, his party has bowed-down due to external pressure.
“Let us accept the consensus, which was twenty-four months, and let us double our efforts to look for funds to support the elections. The parties do not fund the elections. SPLM cannot fund general elections for South Sudan! It is the government that finds the money to fund the elections. And so, if they’re people who think that it is SPLM that has compromised, we have not compromised. It is the issue that the government does not have the funds to run the election. And if the government does not have the funds to run the elections, what is it that the SPLM can do single-handedly to run the elections? So, I called on our members to support the decision of the leadership that, we must extend for twenty-four months, after which time we will go for elections.”
When contacted by King News, Ter Manyang Gatwech, the Executive Director of the Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), said a specific timeline should be set for the implementation of the remaining critical task, such as the unification of forces and the drafting of a permanent constitution.
“As the Center for Peace and Advocacy, we welcome the extension because they are a lot of pending issues that could not be implemented in the three months remaining of the New Year. However, there must be a specific timeline for the parties to hold themselves for instead, the issue of unification of the forces should be the first priority, second priority should be the issue of drafting of a permanent constitution, the third priority should be repatriation of South Sudanese refugees from neighboring countries, and the fourth issue of economic recovery because the citizens want to see an improvement in term of economic in the country.”
Ter Manyany, the Executive Director of Centre for Peace and Advocacy at His Office. (Photo credit: Mr. Beramborikia Isaiah Thomas)
While South Sudan’s government seeks to secure additional funding from both local and international partners to address the financial constraints, Analysts warn that continued delay will undermine their “right to vote” as a cornerstone of democracy.
As the nation grapples with this unexpected development, questions loom about the long-term consequences for the political landscape in what is known to be the world younger’s country.