Senior members of South Sudan’s peace monitoring mechanism on Thursday raised doubts over the country’s readiness for elections and warned that delays in implementing security arrangements could undermine the fragile peace process.
Speaking during the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) Technical Committee meeting in Juba, Maj. Gen. Bior Leek Kuareng, who represents the former detainees, said he does not believe elections will take place this year because funding has not yet been released to the National Elections Commission.
“Already, we are at the end of May, and no funds or money have been released to the National Election Commission, so I don’t believe that elections will be held,” he said.
Gen. Leek said implementation of the security arrangements under the 2018 revitalized peace agreement remains critical before any elections can be conducted. He argued that integrating rival forces into a unified national army would help prevent domination by one party and preserve the credibility of the electoral process.
“If today one party is in charge of the elections, then we are going to lose the integrity of those elections,” he warned.
He welcomed the recent unilateral ceasefire declaration by SSPDF Chief of Defense Forces Gen. Santino Deng Wol and urged the SPLA-IO to reciprocate by halting hostilities.
Leek further called for the integration of opposition and government forces, saying many of the ceasefire violations discussed by CTSAMVM involve forces that remain outside unified command structures.
Backing the call for force integration, Maj. Gen. Ywodo John cautioned against unilateral military initiatives outside the framework of Chapter Two of the peace agreement, which provides for security arrangements.
He criticised recent directives ordering some armed groups to report to nearby training centres for screening and integration, saying such moves could increase tensions rather than stabilise the country.
“All we need to do is double efforts to restore peace by bringing all forces together for integration to reduce tension in the country,” he said.
Maj. Gen. Ywodo also warned that flooding in parts of Upper Nile could worsen humanitarian access challenges, urging CTSAMVM monitoring teams to continue updating parties on developments on the ground.
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