SPLM says elections postponement due to lack of funding

JUBA — South Sudan’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) has blamed the extension of the long-delayed general elections on lack of funding.

The group had consistently stated over the past year that the country would hold elections in December 2024, as outlined in the revitalized peace agreement.

This was despite objections from the opposition, who pointed to the incomplete implementation of key provisions necessary for conducting what would be the nation’s first-ever elections.

Last weekend, President Salva Kiir Mayardit and First Vice President Riek Machar agreed to extend the transitional period by at least 24 months, following the recommendation of a high-level committee tasked with evaluating the agreement’s progress.

As a result, the new transitional period will end in February 2027, with elections now scheduled for December 2026, two months before the conclusion of the extended transitional phase.

Speaking to journalists at a press conference held in the capital Juba on Monday, the group’s secretary-general Peter Lam Both said the SPLM was forced to accept an extension of the transitional period because the ministry of finance did not have the necessary funds to conduct the election.

“The institutions of finance were called to come and tell us whether they had the funds necessary to conduct the election this year. The answer for them was that they didn’t have money for elections,” Lam said.

The senior SPLM official explained that it was possible to conduct elections if the country had money.

“18 months means 12 months and one year and six months. We continued on our positions that it was still possible for us to conduct our elections. One major challenge came and the challenge was that, if we all agreed now to go for elections in December 2024, there was no funding,” he said.

“As a matter of fact, they don’t have money to pay the salaries of nine months. And because of that reason, it became difficult now for us as SPLM to say to people that let us go for elections when there is no money for it,” he added.

He said if there had been funding, they would not have accepted an 18-month extension of the presidency.

“That is what made the change for us to accept an 18-month extension as SPLM. Some other parties said 18 months was still small, they needed 24 months. The IO insisted on 26 months to 30 months and so we could not agree,” he said.

He explained that a 24-month extension would give the mechanism enough time to implement the pending task as the top leadership looked for finances to fund the elections.

“But in the end, of course, an average was taken by the leadership of this country and the average was 24 months. 18 months for mechanisms to do their work and six months to look for funds for the elections. Six months starts now,” he said.

“We must look for money between now and February 2025 so that these mechanisms can do their work and the elections can take place on December 22, 2026,” he said.

“That is what was agreed by the presidency and that is what we accepted. Now for us as SPLM, as Secretary General, I find it difficult even to stand here to talk about extension,” he concluded.