Activists urge government to open up civic and political space ahead of elections

By Benjamin Takpiny

The Center for Peace and advocacy (CPA) and Civil Society Coalition on Defense of Civic Space (CSCDCS) have urged the government to open up civic and political space ahead of the 2024 elections.

The two organizations expressed deep concern on media censorship, restriction on civic and political space and also called for ending attacks on journalists, human rights defenders and opinion leaders and restrictions on opposition political leaders to campaign.

“This election will determine the maturity of the Government in upholding the principles of good governance,” said a joint statement issued in Juba on Wednesday.

The CPA and CSCDCS said opening civic and political space will allow civil society leaders, journalists, human rights defenders, activists, political leaders and opinion leaders to conduct civic education among citizens in order for them to choose the right leaders. 

They said that the transitional government has restricted free speech and freedom of the media, resulting in self-censorship of the media.

“On top of that, citizens increasingly lack access to information and political parties are restricted in their freedom of association. This is a dangerous combination, especially as South Sudan will hold its elections in December 2024,” it said.

It added that political meetings can no longer be held in South Sudan without the approval of the National Security Services, adding that this is in contravention of the right to freedom of assembly and association under Article 25 (1) of the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan as amended.

“Some state officials even engage in verbal attacks and create negative narratives that stigmatize CSOs or discredit their work, harming both the CSOs support based in society, in addition to the activists’ morale and motivation,” it said.