South Sudan

South Sudanese and Kenyan civil society groups want Juba's planned December 2024 elections delayed until all measures are in place to allow credible polling.

South Sudan’s electoral commission has outlined conditions for holding elections, dampening expectations after an earlier indication that polls could take place in December. … Kacuol stated that elections would only be possible if the Elections Act is amended by parliament or if sufficient resources are made available to carry out the necessary activities within the established timeline.

The UN continues to support an enabling environment for general elections in South Sudan, but the date remains elusive, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.

[…] With five months remaining before elections in December 2024, limited progress has been made on implementing key benchmarks for elections as set out in the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan.

Even if it had another decade, the country is unlikely to be ready for elections in a manner that would satisfy most stakeholders. South Sudan's polls will take place on 22 December 2024, despite objections from several quarters. 

South Sudan documented 240 incidents of violence which resulted into 468 deaths and 328 injuries, the UN mission in country (UNMISS) said. The latest quarterly brief by UNMISS, covering the period between January and March 2024, also recorded 70 abductions and conflict-related sexual violence. This, according to the mission, represents a 24 percent increase in the number of violent incidents when compared to the same period last year.

South Sudan government and the holdout groups not signatory to the September 2018 peace agreement on Monday agreed on eight protocols, raising prospect of a possible agreement in the coming days.

South Sudan’s long awaited elections will be held on December 22, the country’s National Election Commission (NEC) has announced.

The principals that are signatory to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), are expected on Wednesday to decide on the fate of elections slated for December this year. … Many peace parties, including the armed opposition faction led by First Vice President Riek Machar have been calling for postponement of the scheduled December 2024 elections, citing the need to first implement the provisions in the agreement which serve as prerequisites for the conduct of the elections.

South Sudan’s opposition and civil society groups, currently negotiating a political deal with their government in Nairobi, say they want the talks to lead to a new constitution so that the country can start from a clean slate.