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In accordance with Section 16 (1) of the National Elections Act 2023, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) of South Sudan announced December 22, 2024 as the election date.
The Chairman of the National Electoral Commission, Professor Abednego Akok Kacuol, told the media on Friday that the voter registration exercise which was originally scheduled to start in June has been postponed due to the delay in reaching an agreement on the elections by the parties.
“There is a so-called electoral calendar. In the electoral calendar, we were supposed to start (voter) registration in June, but because there was no agreement between the parties, we could not do it. But now, with the announcement of the election day, these will be the points to be raised or to work with them,” he said. “That’s what is to be done. Secondly, we are guided by the peace agreement. The NEC said that with six months to go before the election, the election day must be announced. Then we will have elections there from December 22, 2014 to February 25, 2025”
Professor Akoke added that once the election date is announced, the commission will proceed with electoral activities such as voter registration.
“The public already knows that from now on, the elections are going to take place, we will start the voter registration and all the electoral activities will continue until December. And then starting from December, the elections will take place immediately,” he stressed, adding: “I think we have done a lot of preparations. The commission members have been receiving training, we have gone to the states and on Saturday, the commission members will arrive in Juba for training.”
The announcement comes amid growing uncertainty over the conduct of Nairobi elections and ongoing peace talks.
However, Professor Akoke clarified that it was the commission’s responsibility to announce the election date.
“For us in the commission, we are technical people and will implement the protocol as it is. If we do not announce the election date today, then there will be a political loophole,” he said.
On 19 June, the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission established electoral commissions for the country’s 10 states and appointed heads of commissions, but he did not establish commissions for the three administrative areas of Abyei, Greater Pibor and Ruun.
When asked about the fate of the three administrative regions, Prof. Akoke said he would appoint the chairpersons of the state committees after the committee meeting.
The December election will be South Sudan’s first since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
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