Deputy Chairperson for the Political Parties Council said any political party that bears the name of another party shall not be allowed to register in the country
By Anak Dut
The Political Parties Council (PPC) has vowed to implement the Political Parties Act in letter and spirit, saying no two political parties with a similar name shall be allowed to register and participate in the 2026 elections.
Lorna James Elia, Deputy Chairperson for the Political Parties Council said according to the Act, SPLM-IO is not legible to register after the SPLM had already registered.
She said any political party that bears the name of another party shall not be allowed to register in the country.
“Currently we have a total of 14 political parties that had previously been registered on the 8th of May 2024. When we came to the office we realized that there were already political parties that were registered and then there was no way we could deregister them because we had documents and all the requirements for their registration,” she said.
Ms. James further said that there were an additional 15 political parties that also registered but because of lack of quorum between 2014 to date, were not registered and now they have allowed them to register.
“So now we have 29 political parties. But what I want to tell you is that these are not new political parties.”
However, she said their door is still open for any new political party that wishes to register can do so, adding that the registration will stop 180 days before the election.
According to her, when a party misses the deadline it will be allowed to be registered but not participate in the elections.
“You can still register but you may not participate in that upcoming election. You can’t participate in other elections that will come subsequently,” Ms. James explained.
On a separate note, Ms. James said they have been witnessing a lot of competition between the political party leaders not in terms of what they want to provide for the people of South Sudan and what powers they want to get.
“For me, this is a lack of maturity in terms of politics because a political party must prove that he or she is the best to contribute to the people of South Sudan,” she said.
“Every political party that is coming to the must prove itself that they are the best in terms of service delivery. That they are the best in terms of changing the face of what is going on now rather than fighting themselves and personalizing issues.”
“Currently we have a total of 14 political parties that had previously been registered on the 8th of May 2024. When we came to the office we realized that there were already political parties that were registered and then there was no way we could deregister them because we had documents and all the requirements for their registration,” Lorna James Elia, Deputy Chairperson for the Political Parties Council.