Attachments
Good morning to all of you and welcome to the regular UNMISS Press Conference.
Let me also welcome everyone joining us live on Radio Miraya across the country.
The press conference is part of our commitment to provide regular updates to the media and to the people of South Sudan, on our assessment of the current situation of the country and what UNMISS is doing under our mandate.
Let me begin by acknowledging some positive developments over the last three months. The government-led Joint Taskforce for the implementation of Constitution-Making and Electoral Processes (CMP), along with AU and IGAD, and UN participation, is now up and running. There have been multi-party discussions on the budget for the elections, the National Elections Act is under consideration by parliament and the police have begun conversations around security during elections.
I’d want to commend the recent public remarks by the President during the 12th Independence Day celebrations and the Martyrs Day that acknowledged firstly that this is a critical phase in the consolidation of peace, he reinforced the message not to return to war, and he endorsed a path forward to the elections in 2024, on time and without further extensions of the roadmap.
Time is of the essence. Only 17 months remain on the roadmap timelines before the elections in December 2024. I repeat what I had said in an earlier press conference that 2023 is a ‘make or break’ year such that the decisions and actions that must be made now have to be made in order to pave the way for the holding of peaceful, inclusive, and credible elections next year.
The candid and honest observation of most analysts, observers and stakeholders is that as it stands today, South Sudan is not yet ready for elections, but that elections could be held on schedule if there is adequate political will, a practical political approach to the arrangements and commensurate resources are applied to achieving the benchmarks in the roadmap.
Let me emphasize that elections are not merely a one-day event, but a process that involves deliberate and thoughtful actions before, well before, during and after the electoral process. The process must have the full confidence of the South Sudanese people to make it a nationbuilding, not a divisive or violent activity.
It begins with laying the right foundation for the legal framework of elections through the multiparty deliberation in parliament. This means critical decisions about the type and format of elections, how many elections will be held; questions on the census, voter registration, on the inclusion of refugees and IDPs, as well as the establishment of relevant bodies and legal structures that can address elections related disputes must all be taken now.
The reconstitution of three essential bodies, I’d want to underline, the National Constitutional Review Commission (R-NCRC), the National Elections Commission, and Political Parties Council (PPC) must be prioritized.