CEPO’s Yakani describes US meetings on South Sudan elections as ‘fruitful’

WASHINGTON – South Sudan’s civil society activist and Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, has concluded a five-day advocacy visit to the United States.

Yakani who travelled to the US for a five-day advocacy mission on March 5, 2024, met with U.S. government officials and UN representatives to discuss a peaceful end to South Sudan’s transitional period through elections.

In a statement extended to Sudans Post this afternoon, Yakani expressed that his meetings were successful and noted the US government’s support for timely and peaceful elections.

“The advocacy trips to the USA… were fruitful and remarkable on mobilizing support for peaceful and democratic political transition of our country from violence to peace,” Yakani said.

“Voices of US government officials are towards timely holding of elections in a democratic and peaceful manner where the country will never return to violence,” he said.

He emphasized the South Sudanese government’s responsibility for creating a conducive pre-election environment:

“The actual primary responsibility for making elections democratic and peaceful is at the hands of the government in terms of creating a conducive environment for the elections, national funding of the elections and ensure that the elections are inclusive and non-violent,” Yakani said.

The prominent civil society activist expressed concern over recent conflicting messages from South Sudanese political parties regarding elections, noting this had displeased the US government and the international community.

Yakani further concluded by saying that his organization intends to share details and ideas from the advocacy trip to the United States with South Sudan’s political leadership, potentially including a briefing for President Salva Kiir.