South Sudan risks sliding into a deeper political and security crisis if its first national election since independence is poorly managed, African Union (AU) and UN officials have warned, with the December 22 vote approaching amid political divisions, funding shortages and renewed fighting.
Jakaya Kikwete, the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the December 22 vote must be properly managed to avoid renewed instability.
“If they are not conducted well, the crisis will begin again immediately,” the former Tanzanian president said, according to UN meeting records.
UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) chief Anita Kiki Gbeho said the country was at a “critical juncture,” citing unresolved security arrangements, logistical problems, an extremely compressed electoral timetable and incomplete provisions of the 2018 peace agreement.
South Sudan has not held a national election since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011. A civil war erupted two years later following a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his longtime rival Riek Machar, killing an estimated 400,000 people before a 2018 peace agreement established a transitional power-sharing government. Elections intended to end the transition have since been postponed repeatedly amid instability.
In June, the South Sudanese National Elections Commission (NEC) announced that presidential and parliamentary elections would be held on December 22. Last week, it said it had identified 3,161 voter registration centers and begun distributing materials, although registration had yet to begin. In September, Kiir dismissed NEC chairman Abednego Akok Kacuol, who had led the body since 2012, without giving a reason. Former secretary-general Gabriel Bol Deng Majok replaced him.
Kiir also dissolved the transitional unity government on September 22 after legal amendments removed requirements for a permanent constitution and census before elections. Machar remains under house arrest and on trial on treason and murder charges, which he denies. His SPLM-IO says his release is a condition for participating in political dialogue.
The AU has previously warned that credible elections require political consensus, an open civic space, adequate funding and security, while noting armed confrontations in Jonglei and Upper Nile.
Violence has continued in recent months, with clashes in Upper Nile displacing more than 35,000 people. On Tuesday, UNMISS chief Gbeho said around 10 million people require humanitarian assistance, including 7.5 million who face food insecurity.
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