By Jurugo Emmanuel Ogasto
South Sudanese refugees call on leaders to commit to holding December 2024 elections.
Youth Chairperson at Boroli camp in west Nile region of Uganda, Taban Alafi Justine made the appeal during a two-day youth dialogue organized by local leaders in Adjumani town on Friday.
“I think people are just scared to have elections for nothing; this is the only way to have everlasting democratic peace,” he said.
The appeal comes amid skepticism from most citizens and the international committee on the conduct of polls, as the unity government has divergent views on the December schedule.
“I fully support the democratic process to have elections in South Sudan, and I will definitely vote for my visionary leader,” he added.
The youth leader expressed confidence that South Sudan can conduct free and fair elections by the end of 2024.
“I see a lot of challenges raised by our people in South Sudan, saying elections should be rescheduled, and I personally don’t agree, this will disorganize our people in South Sudan,” he said.
Taban assured that the youths in refugee settlements across the world should fully support the election.
“I really urge my fellow South Sudanese youths in the diaspora to at least be good peer educators on the election process,” he concluded.
South Sudan was meant to conclude a transition period with elections in February 2023, but the transitional government failed to meet key provisions of the agreement, including drafting a constitution and unifying the army.
The parties to the agreement extended the transitional government’s time in office for another two years, meaning general elections would be held in December 2024.
But many observers believe that South Sudan is currently not in a position to conduct credible elections in December 2024, as more work remains to be done to prepare for the polls.
Some of the critical tasks required before elections could take place include the opening of political and civic spaces, the funding of electoral institutions, the drafting of a permanent constitution, determining voter eligibility, the voting process, and the deployment of properly trained and equipped unified forces.