South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Benjamin Takpiny
The existing conditions in South Sudan do not warrant holding of free, fair and credible elections, according to the head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan Nicholas Haysom.
Haysom said these remarks while briefing on Thursday diplomats at the UN Security Council meeting in New York.
“Member states have enquired of UNMISS as to whether the country can be considered capable of holding free, fair, credible, and especially peaceful elections. We have clearly stated that, as matters stand now, the country is not yet in a position to hold credible elections, a view shared by almost all key stakeholders across the political spectrum,” he said.
He said that the consequential question raised by this conclusion is what conditions and institutions must be in place for such an election to be possible and by when those conditions will have to be in place for the elections to meet the December 2024 deadline.
“The necessary conditions which must be met for these elections are identified in the Secretary General’s report before you and include: that a new ‘permanent’ constitutional framework be in place; that properly trained and equipped unified forces are deployed; that an operational election security plan has been formulated; a clear electoral framework be agreed upon; election institutions and mechanisms be in place; and voter registration modalities and electoral dispute resolution mechanisms are agreed through consensus,” said Haysom.
He said that there must be an agreed code of conduct for political parties, establishing the parameters of acceptable political behaviour and which allows for a more open political and civic space than the one that currently exists in the country.
Haysom said that a “critical mass” of these pre-requisites is necessary for creating the conditions for the conduct of elections that are not only free and fair but also deemed credible and acceptable to South Sudanese citizens.
He added that the process of agreeing on these conditions must be one that builds trust in the electoral institutions and acceptance of the outcomes by all participants.
“Based on consultations with electoral experts, it is our considered view that the critical mass of the pre-requisites outlined above must be in place by April 2024 if peaceful elections are to be conducted by December 2024,” said Haysom.
“We believe that with the necessary political will, a sense of urgency and compromise, the South Sudanese could indeed establish the conditions for elections in December 2024. In support of South Sudan’s electoral efforts and as part of a first Phase of preparations, UNMISS is itself actively engaged in promoting an enabling environment for elections through repurposing its staff within existing resources,” he disclosed.
However, Haysom noted that creating enabling environment for elections involves providing capacity-building support to establish trusted electoral management bodies and a political environment encompassing the necessary political and civic space for a real competitive process.
He added that scaling up UN electoral assistance under Phase 2 would involve concrete logistical and similar support for the conduct of the actual elections, adding that it remains contingent upon the progress achieved on the pre-requisites by April 2024.
“This scaling up will, therefore, be also subject to the support of Member States and the consequent availability of necessary resources. While this does not preclude South Sudan opting to proceed with elections without these conditions in place, however, it does serve as a yardstick for the international community’s support for an election which would be a nation building event rather than a divisive exercise,” said Haysom.
He said that the dire economic situation of the country and the resulting competition over diminishing resources at the subnational level, the influx of returnees from Sudan, climate shocks and a fragile political environment, suggests that elections in South Sudan would take place in an environment of elevated tensions.
“If these risks are not mitigated, then the threat to civilians remains real,” said Haysom.
He noted that UNMISS remains committed to the protection of civilians and prioritizes it as a key mandated task.
UNMISS is implementing proactive measures aimed at mitigating the risks of pre-electoral, electoral, and post-electoral violence, with a focus on maintaining a robust presence in potential hotspots through existing and new temporary operating bases, team sites, fortifying rapidly deployable reserves of peacekeepers, extensive patrolling, and building on our political and civil engagement at the community and national levels, said Haysom.
He said that the humanitarian situation in the country has reached alarming proportions, where two-thirds of the population is now food insecure.
“Competing global priorities have negatively impacted international humanitarian assistance. This requires that South Sudanese leaders invest more resources towards humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of their people,” said Haysom.
South Sudan is currently hosting over 434,000 people who fled fighting in Sudan since April 15 2023.
Haysom said that South Sudan remains a dangerous place for humanitarian organizations to operate.
He called on the government of South Sudan to enable safe and unfettered humanitarian access throughout the country and hold to account perpetrators responsible for attacks against humanitarians and the looting of humanitarian aid destined for the most vulnerable.
“It is now time for the government of South Sudan to take decisive actions to address these challenges and put in place conditions that not only lead to peaceful and credible elections but also deliver genuine peace dividends and stability after a vote, Finally, 2024 is anticipated to be a difficult and challenging year for UNMISS, for South Sudan, its people and the region, UNMISS reiterates that it will discharge its mandate to the best of its ability,” said Haysom.