The Revitalised Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) has said that it is planning to hold a general election in June year 2023 as per the requirements of the 2018 peace accord.
Chapter 1.20.5 of the R-ARCSS stipulates that ‘sixty days prior to the end of the Transitional Period, the National Elections Commission (NEC) shall organise elections in accordance with the provisions of the permanent constitution adopted pursuant to the agreement.
But the delays in the implementation of the peace deal have thrown the bid to transition into a democracy in serious doubts. By now, various key institutions for elections like the National Elections (NEC) have not been constituted.
Upon its constitution, the NEC will have to constitute a voter register and compile the lists of aspirants who intend to vie for various positions as well as their constituencies. A budget will also need to be drawn to ensure that the exercise runs smoothly.
Impediments
Currently, the government is also of the opinion that conducting population census, repatriation of the refugees and internally displaced persons and determination of the electoral constituencies are holding the exercise.
According to the presidential spokesperson, Ateny Wek Ateny, these activities take time and resources and will also necessitate that the unity government seeks support from development partners and friends.
Speaking to journalists during the press conference in Juba, Ateny assured South Sudanese people and the regional and international community government remains committed to ensuring transparency and accountability.
“By implementing the revitalised peace agreement for the peaceful transfer of power in the next general election if the will of the people so dictates,” said Ateny.
The statement was in response to self-exiled government critic Dr Peter Biar Ajak, who recently took to the floor of the US Senate to accuse the government of failing to implement the deal and holding brakes transitioning to a democracy.
‘‘The United States, working together with the African Union, the United Nations, and others must demand that Kiir holds election by March 2022 since our people can no longer endure his awful rule,’’ he stated in his presentation at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing on March 10.
The then minister of presidential affairs Nhial Deng Nhial bashed Dr Biar as he said that elections in 2022 would be infeasible due to lack of enough time for preparations.
And on Wednesday, Ateny re-iterated what Nhial had said terming Biar’s views bizarre.
“Let us face it, elections are time consuming, in this context, peter’s demand that the general elections be conducted in just a year from now which is clearly impracticable, lacks context and demonstrates how bizarre his views appear,” he added.
Ateny also said that the government was engaging the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) ‘to institute a hybrid census which entails the application of modern geo-referenced demographic data generation, including the use of satellite imagery, in order to collect data in inaccessible areas for the population and housing census.’
“Therefore, there is no way that the general elections can be held in 2022 as Peter naively demands,” Ateny explained.