South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Simon Deng
The Member of Parliament representing Lafon County in Eastern Equatoria State legislative assembly, Viser Likali on Friday warned that the upcoming elections could be disrupted if nothing is done to tackle the ongoing intermittent communal violence.
“We are actually questioning the prerequisite of the peace agreement, and also there is rampant tribal fighting in Eastern Equatoria, these are the reasons we say elections cannot be conducted in such an environment,” said the legislator who belongs to the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in opposition (SPLM-IO) led by First Vice President Riek Machar in an interview.
“The general security situation in the country does not warrant conducive environment for elections, we need to settle our communities, they are fighting each other, there is hatred among them,” added Likali.
Margret Idua, the Minister of Youth and Sports in Eastern Equatoria State and also the Acting Governor for Eastern Equatoria State, said while appearing recently on state-owned SSBC that Eastern Equatoria state is ready for the 2024 general elections.
However, Likali said the situation on the ground is not conducive for conducting elections, adding that Ikwotos County is mired in violence characterized in the form of cattle raiding.
He revealed that there is also communal violence between the Toposa and Lopit, and also between Toposa and Didinga.
“These are the voters fighting among themselves in Eastern Equatoria State, people will end up voting as tribes, we want to vote as a nation not as tribes, we need to solve those issues and then reconcile the communities,” said Likali.