By Manas James
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) led by President Salva Kiir in its bid to amass countrywide support, has taken membership registration in Ulang County, Upper Nile State,
The ongoing membership mobilisation is ignited with the object of preparing the party for the anticipated for December 2024, general elections.
Chudiar Gai Chuol, the county SPLM party chairperson, told this outlet on Monday that the registration process has been running for a week now, with over 2,000 cadres registered so far.
“As the SPLM party, we started membership registration last Monday so that we deliver on our goals of taking towns to the villages,” he said. “We started from the Nyangora, Barmach, Yeng, and Doma areas. 2,000 people have so far been registered.”
The top county party official said the registration process will continue until the entire county is covered.
“Registrations are still ongoing. Areas of Yomding, Kerchuat, Kurmuot 1, and Kurmuot 2 are yet to have their membership registered,” he noted.
According to Gai, they are gladly registering those members of the public who are interested in their SPLM party policies.
Though there are no official and openly declared elections campaigns in the country, political parties have since 2022 started indirect mobilizations for the highly anticipated and doubtful 2024 polls.
The ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) took the lead in what it dubbed the SPLM party renaissance, which witnessed mass mobilizations across the country.
Dr. Riek Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), the main challenger to the ruling SPLM of President Kiir, is not an exception to the undercover manoeuvres.
SPLM-IO also embarked last year on organising its party cadres and launched the establishment of its party secretariats.
The ruling SPLM party’s renaissance campaign concluded with the endorsement of President Salva Kiir as “the sole candidate,” the only party flag bearer for the anticipated 2024 presidential elections.
South Sudan’s possibility of conducting general elections by December 2024 hangs in the air, with some pending key tasks in the peace roadmap still to be implemented as the clock ticks down.
Activists and analysts weigh that the prospects and atmosphere of conducting free and fair democratic elections are still unlikely.
In early January 2022, the head of the UN mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, urged the unity government to start preparing a conducive political environment ahead of the forthcoming elections.