South Sudan President’s Election Statement Welcomed by Civil Society

The Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Peace (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, has welcomed the statement made by President Salva Kiir Mayardit on the forthcoming elections scheduled for December 2026.

In a statement on Tuesday, President Kiir called on political parties to openly declare their stance on the conduct of the elections, which are expected to be held within the extended transitional period of two years.

“We welcome the President’s statement for being open about the elections,” said Yakani. “Last year, we saw complete silence from political leadership on the fate of the elections. At least this year, they have started speaking about the elections early enough.”

Yakani appealed to President Kiir to convene an urgent meeting of the presidency to discuss the electoral process, which should be associated with key decisions that will help the National Election Commission (NEC) plan and execute the elections.

Specifically, Yakani called for the NEC to be delinked from the population census and constitutional making process, and for adequate and timely funding to be allocated to institutions with election mandates such as the NEC, National Constitution Review Commission, and Political Parties Council.

The civil society leader also emphasized the need for unification of forces to ensure safety and security of electoral processes, workers of the NEC, and candidates who will contest in the elections. Additionally, he called for unrestricted civic and political space for civil society and political actors to act and for religious leaders to disseminate civic and voter education.

The statement from President Kiir comes at a time when civil society has been demanding urgent political decisions on the electoral process. Yakani expressed hope that this year’s statement will lead to concrete actions that will help the NEC conduct the elections within the timeline of January 22nd, 2025 to February 22nd, 2025.

“We need to see clear political decisions that help the Electoral Commission technically to start preparing and creating a good enough condition for elections,” Yakani said.