Elections conducted by international body only option for South Sudan – Dr. Lam Akol

JUBA – South Sudan’s prominent opposition leader Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin is calling for international involvement in would-be elections slated for end of the current transitional period, according to a statement extended to Sudans Post.

According to the revitalized peace agreement to which Dr. Lam – the leader of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) – is a signatory, South Sudan shall hold general elections at the end of the transitional which ends in 2022.

In recent weeks, South Sudan government has been issuing statements in which it refers elections for June 2023. One of the most recent statements by the presidency was on Wednesday in which Kiir’s press secretary Ateny Wek Ateny announced that elections will take place in June 2023.

According to the presidency, the postponement of elections is because transitional tasks provided for in the agreement and which must be completed before elections – such as the reunification of rival forces – are not yet done due to an apparent lack of funding and political will.

In response, Dr. Lam said the parties to the revitalized peace agreement have failed and the only option available for South Sudan to proceed is to have an international body such as the United Nations to conduct elections so as to avoid election disputes.

“In the current situation where the Parties have failed to implement the reforms needed in order to create impartial government institutions, especially, the national army, national law enforcement organized forces, and the judiciary, the only available option is to have the elections conducted by an international body (e.g., UN),” he wrote in the statement extended to Sudans Post.

“There is nothing novel here. The first parliamentary elections in Sudan in 1953 were conducted by an international commission (an Indian who was the Chairman, Briton, Egyptian, American and three Sudanese). This is the only way to guarantee that no party would claim rigging if it loses,” he added.