South Sudan President, First Vice President differ over election timeline

JUBA, South Sudan

South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar are divided on elections conduct, amid concerns over delays in the implementation of key provisions of the peace deal.

Kiir expressed his frustrations on the delays in the polls at the swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed SPLM national advisors, secretaries, and deputy secretaries.

“There are people who said there are no elections. There is nobody who is more tired than me. I have five deputy vice presidents and there is no country which has five vice presidents,” explained the South Sudanese leader, adding “If my deputies are the ones who go and encourage people who talk about no elections, I can tell them that there is no extension of the agreement or roadmap”.

Kiir, who heads the country’s ruling party (SPLM), warned his rivals against taking up arms should they fail to win the elections scheduled for December next year.

He said elections would take place, despite delays to implement key provisions in the peace agreement which ended five years of the country’s bloody civil war.

The South Sudanese leader reiterated his commitment to ensure elections are held, ruling out any possibilities of extending the current transitional government.

“We are going for elections and you should prepare yourselves. If we go for elections and you fail, do not look back,” stressed Kiir, adding “There is nothing left behind unless you want to run to the bush and you have to look for the person who will go with you to the bush. Nobody will follow you to the bush again”.

But speaking during the National Economic Conference held in Juba last week, Machar wondered how elections would be held if key prerequisites are not met.

These prerequisites, according the opposition leader, include screening, training, and deployment of the necessary unified force, return of the internally displaced persons to their home areas of origin, and return of refugees from neighboring countries to which they fled during the war in search of security and safety.

In August last year, South Sudan’s leaders signed a two-year extension of the transitional government, in a move foreign partners warned as lacking legitimacy.

This was the second time the parties extended the country’s transitional period.

Machar said implementation of key provisions in the roadmap is behind schedule.

In July, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom said the young nation could still make significant strides towards this December 2024 target to hold elections with political will, adequate resourcing and commitment to create an appropriate political environment.