Top religious leader warns insecurity threatens South Sudan elections

JUBA – A prominent South Sudanese religious figure, Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, voiced concerns on Thursday about the escalating insecurity jeopardizing the peaceful conduct of elections scheduled for December 2024.

South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, has yet to hold elections since its independence.

While a 2018 revision of the 2015 peace agreement stipulates elections two months prior to the transitional period’s end (February 2025 as per the 2022 roadmap), Archbishop Arama, who is the Primate of the Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, highlighted potential threats from ongoing conflicts.

“The underlying factor that underpins it is the fact that elections will be conducted in a fragile and insecure context, characterized by a cycle of conflicts that have profound historical roots, some of which pre-date the current conflict including communal violence, cattle raiding, boundary, conflicts that take the form of revenge killings and conflicts between cattle keepers and farmers among others,” he said.

The Anglican Church Communion, according to Archbishop Arama, has initiated a two-day program to raise awareness about the elections among citizens.

He described the project as “designed to prepare citizens to participate in the transition and elections in a context where there are myriad and grave human rights violations, a weak economy that cannot guarantee well-financed elections.”

He further emphasized concerns regarding the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in civilian hands, potentially hindering the conduct of safe, free, and credible elections.

The prominent religious leader cited a weak justice system, high levels of corruption, and widespread poverty as factors that could undermine the electoral process.

“The very high proliferation of small firearms and light weapons among civilians, a weak justice system that is not able to guarantee effective prevention, management and resolution of election-related disputes and misunderstanding, high levels of corruption that is likely to enable electoral contestants to use and misuse funds during elections and highly impoverished community where majority lack basic needs and essential social services,” he said.

“The proposal considers that the long civil war caused unbearable instabilities and distress which must be addressed alongside civic education as citizens prepare to participate in the elections. These distresses include loss of life and property, displacement, vows of revenge and non-cooperation between and among communities,” he added.

The comments by the prominent religious leader comes as violence has escalated across the country, killing over 150 people in the first 36 days of the year 2024.

While President Salva Kiir wants elections to take place as planned, opposition leader Riek Machar, who is also the first vice president, has differed with Kiir on the matter.

He argues that the country is not ready for elections, citing unimplemented tasks provided for in the revitalized peace agreement.

These tasks include deployment of the unified forces to provide election security, permanent constitution, and a population census.