South Sudan

Key opposition parties in South Sudan have termed a contentious electoral law as a scheme by the government to keep them out of upcoming elections in December. The Coalition of Opposition Parties presented a petition to the country’s Political Party Council Monday demanding revocation of the $50,000 registration fee imposed on parties seeking to field candidates in the upcoming polls.

Violence and insecurity could worsen in South Sudan after one of its key oil pipelines to international markets, which passes through neighbouring Sudan, was damaged last month, according to experts. … “The pipeline accounts for two-thirds or three-quarters of oil revenues. Unless [South Sudan] is able to get the pipeline working again, it will be a massive pull on South Sudan’s budget,” said Alan Boswell, an expert on South Sudan for International Crisis Group.

First Vice President of South Sudan Riek Machar Teny has called for a mediated dialogue among parties to the 2018 revitalised peace agreement to agree on the timeline for elections and revision of the peace roadmap.

Young men shot dead 15 people in South Sudan's eastern Pibor region, including a county commissioner, a senior official said on Wednesday, amid a rise in local conflict ahead of a national election due at the end of the year.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir has rejected another extension of the transitional period, citing the need for citizens to choose their leaders through a popular constitutional process.

The Security Council today decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan until 30 April 2024, unanimously adopting resolution 2726 (to be issued as document S/RES/2726 (2024)) under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. 

This week, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meets to renew the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) for another year. It has been renewed over 13 times since the mission’s inception in 2011, but this time will be vital.The country is at a crossroads.

With only nine months remaining before the polls in December, South Sudan is not ready to hold elections and a lot more needs to be done, the head of UN peace operations said on Tuesday. … “Therefore, if not managed carefully, they [the elections] carry the potential for violence with disastrous consequences for an already fragile country and the wider region,” he said.

The United Nations peacekeeping chief, Jean-Pierre Lacroix has reiterated the world body’s commitment to provide support to elections in South Sudan as well as for peace and stability to return to Sudan.

South Sudan can hold credible elections if its leaders overcome some obstacles, the head of the United Nations mission in the country (UNMISS) said on Tuesday Nicholas Haysom urged political leaders to tackle challenges in order to hold free, fair and credible elections.