![Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) Edmund Yakani. [Photo courtesy]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/maxresdefault.jpg?resize=850%2C501&ssl=1)
In a statement released on Sunday morning, Yakani said that the law which was signed into law by President Salva Kiir Mayardit has some issues that he said should be resolved to ensure that the would-be 2024 elections are free and fair.
“The required legal frameworks for the conduct of the December 2024 are in place while the institutional set up has been dragged for long till today due to limited political commitment and will from some of the political actors who are signatories to the R-ARCSS,” he said.
“CEPO Domestic Elections Watch initiative realized that the applicability of the signed National Election Act 2021 (amended) 2023 is having some gaps or issues that require national consensus in order to be resolved,” he added.
The activist said the presidency, which comprises of President Kiir and his first deputy and opposition leader Riek Machar, needs to convene an urgent national elections consensus dialogue before end of the year in order to clear the issues.
“The presidency is required to urgently commission a national elections consensus dialogue in juba in early November 2023 for sorting out or making clarity or gaining consensus on the applicability of the national elections cat, 2023 for the free, fair, credible and peaceful general national elections by December 2024,” he said.
“The national elections consensus dialogue will offer greater opportunity of gaining national trust and confidence on the expected December 2024. These elections are seriously between being peaceful or violent elections if no good enough secured national consensus,” he stressed.
The activist further warned that South Sudan’s first elections which is scheduled for December 2024 will likely be violent and blamed lack of consensus among the key signatories to the revitalized peace agreement signed in 2018.
“Indicators that shown these expected national elections are likely to be violent at states than the national level is higher due to limited clarity and clashing messages from political elites. Among the key concerns that require national consensus is the applicability of the elections law in the facing of limited deliverance of the required agreed upon per the provisions of the R-ARCSS as preconditions,” he said.
“This includes making key compromises with clear political agreements on the handling the preconditions for creating conducive environment for the conduct of the elections in December 2024,” he added.
He said that “Application of the formula for the distribution of the 332 national parliament seats between geographical constituencies and proportional presentation of 50% and 50%; the approach for inclusion of youth and persons with disabilities in the electoral process; redistribution of the additional national parliament geographical constituencies among the states and the administrative areas; silence of the elections law on size of states parliament and administrative areas including matters of electoral security, prevention of electoral and mitigation electoral disputes.”
“CEPO Domestic Elections Watch initiative with due respect is urging the presidency to holding urgent meetings for making key political decisions on the pathway for preparedness on the pathway for the conduct of the expected December 2024 national general elections.
“CEPO is the urging the citizens to be proactive on the matters of the looming national elections in December 2024. CEPO already is engaged in pre-elections domestic observation exercise and our third Domestic Observation report will be release by the end of this month October 2023.”
