By Simon Deng
The Civil Society Forum has called upon the transitional government, the National Elections Commission, and security agencies to enhance cooperation and expedite preparations for South Sudan’s December 2026 general elections. Key outstanding tasks include voter registration and civic and voter education.
Speaking last week at the close of the 2026 South Sudan Country Forum, Lony Ruot, Executive Director of Standard Action Liaison Force (SALF), urged all election stakeholders to collaborate to finalize pending preparations and ensure a peaceful and credible electoral process.
Ruot emphasized the urgency of completing these tasks: “In terms of elections,we are still remaining with voter registration; all stakeholders need to cooperate to complete pending tasks. Civic and voter education has not yet been done; the National Elections Commission must devise a strategy to complete preparations.”
James Okony Dau, chairperson of the South Sudanese Network for Democracy and Elections (SSUNDE), echoed this sentiment, stressing the importance of cooperation among stakeholders for successful elections.
“A credible, peaceful electoral process is a shared responsibility. The success of the process cannot rest on one institution; it requires cooperation and commitment from all stakeholders,” Dau stated.
He detailed the forum’s comprehensive agenda: “We have discussed electoral preparedness, legal and institutional issues, inclusion and participation, voter education, information integrity, electoral security, human rights, civic space,and electoral dispute restrictions, and importantly, our line of responsibility and timeline for the stakeholder action matrix.”
The event brought together civil society groups,political actors, faith-based organizations, and academia, allowing stakeholders to reaffirm their commitment to working constructively and independently.
Participants affirmed, “We will continue to support meaningful citizen participation, civic and voter education,domestic observation, inclusion, dialogues, and peaceful democratic participation.”
They added, “Our responsibility now is to ensure that the gaps identified during key discussions are not ignored, but are addressed through concurrent action, with a new commitment to peaceful political competition, inclusion, respect for rights and responsibility, communication, and peaceful resolution of disputes.”
Chris Gitaru,the representative of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission,said the forum aimed to resolve contentious issues to enable the National Elections Commission to proceed with preparations for transparent and peaceful elections.
“Election is not a one-person task; it is a task for all South Sudanese people to stand together and to work towards a good result,to intensify voter education campaigns, so that our people understand their rights to come and vote,” Gitaru emphasized.
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