First elections in South Sudan since independence will take place

The nation’s leader declared that the administration is dedicated to resolving issues that are generating delays.

Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, who also declared his candidacy on Tuesday, said the country’s long-delayed general elections will take place as scheduled next year.

Since its separation from Sudan in 2011, Kiir has served as the nation’s president. Since then, the country has had a number of conflicts, including a civil war in 2013 brought on by tensions between Kiir and Riek Machar, his former vice president.

The protracted civil war was ended in August 2018 when the opposing factions agreed to share authority.

The first plan was for a transitional period that would end with elections in February 2023. An extension was necessary because the administration had trouble completing important clauses of the agreement, like creating a new constitution.

Speaking to supporters of his ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement party on Tuesday, Kiir vowed to address current issues and guarantee their resolution before the scheduled elections in December 2024.

He claimed that the 2024 general elections would be held as planned by the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity, which was founded in 2020 with the goal of transferring to civil rule.

According to the Sudan Tribune, he remarked, “I am deeply touched by your endorsement, and your continued support to our historic party gives me confidence that we will stand together as we go towards elections next year.”

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimate that 383,000 people died during the five-year civil conflict that broke out in South Sudan in December 2013.

As the start of a recently extended 24-month transition period, 2023 will be a crucial year for Juba, according to Nicholas Haysom, director of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, who made this declaration in March.

He issued a warning against further delays in putting the peace deal into effect and holding fair elections in the nation, which is one of the poorest in Africa as a result of political unrest.