By William Madouk
Greater Upper Nile State prepares to endorse Salva Kiir Mayardit as Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) flag bearer for 2024 general elections.
The state deputy governor, Ayong Awer Lual revealed in a meeting with the party Chairperson, Salva Kiir on Monday, at the State House in Juba.
“President Kiir has received a report from the Deputy Governor of Upper Nile State, Ayong Awer Lual, on the current state of affairs in the area,” partly reads a statement from the Office of the President.
The deputy governor of Kiir states that the security situation in the state is now experiencing relative stability, adding that President Kiir’s endorsement will take place in December 2023.
“All the counties in the Upper Nile region are currently carrying out mobilization for the event due to be held in the regional capital, Malakal, in December this year,” the president’s press unit quoted Lual as saying.
On August 20, 2023, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) members in the Upper Nile region joined hands in a rare event to plan for the regional endorsement of President Kiir.
The leaders encompass members of the SPLM Political Bureau, National Liberation Council, and SPLM chairpersons of states and Chief Administrators in Upper Nile areas.
The press secretary in the office of the governor of Unity State, Peter Bakuony, said a rally would be held in Malakal, Upper Nile State, on the first week of December 2023.
He noted that the meeting was the first of its kind, and the committee headed by Dr. Manytuil would start with the preparation of the budget before the deadline approaches.
The rally will be the third mega endorsement for Kiir as the party’s flag bearer after another one in the Equatoria region this month and the previous endorsement in the Bahr El Ghazal region.
On Monday, Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) leaders led by the Area Chief Administrator Lokoli Ame Bullen officially handed a certificate to the President, announcing that the Area will deliver its votes to President Kiir during the elections.
In July, the streets of Wau were filled with red shirts as the SPLM party endorsed Kiir as the sole candidate for the 2024 general elections.
SPLM members from the votes-rich region comprised of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, Western Bahr el Ghazal State, Warrap State, Lakes State, and Abyei Special Administrative Area (ASAA) vowed to rally behind Kiir as their sole presidential candidate.
The head of state consequently promised them services, as he was overwhelmed with happiness.
The roadmap for the extension of the transitional period in August 2022 stated that elections would be held in December 2024, two months before the end of the transitional period in February 2025.
But critics have upheld that there are no signs of the elections given the pending tasks in the execution of the peace agreement, the census, the repatriation of refugees, and the reconstitution of the national election commission, just to mention a few.
First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar had also expressed reservations about the conduct of the 2024 elections without the implementation of the security Arrangement.