{"id":828,"date":"2026-10-16T08:26:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T08:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedawn.com.ss\/?p=828"},"modified":"2026-10-16T08:26:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T08:26:40","slug":"central-equatoria-elections-official-urges-unity-to-ensure-credible-2026-polls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedawn.com.ss\/?p=828","title":{"rendered":"Central Equatoria Elections Official Urges Unity to Ensure Credible 2026 Polls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
The civil society alliance members and the members of Central Equatoria state high electoral committee during the debriefing meeting (credit: Jenifer James)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Jenifer James<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A member of the Central Equatoria State High Elections Committee, Leone Lemeri George, has called on civil society organisations, electoral authorities and other stakeholders to strengthen cooperation and dialogue to ensure free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in South Sudan, urging the state to set an example for the rest of the country ahead of the planned December 2026 polls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at a meeting organized by the Civil Society Alliance, George emphasized that dialogue between electoral authorities and civil society is crucial for resolving misunderstandings, sharing responsibilities, and building public confidence in the electoral process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This meeting is very important. It clears misunderstandings and enables us to share the responsibility for free and fair elections in Central Equatoria State,” George stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed that Central Equatoria State should set a national precedent by ensuring credible elections, urging stakeholders to collaborate rather than assign blame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If there are free, fair and credible elections in South Sudan, they must start from here. We will not succeed if we do not sit together as stakeholders, take responsibility together and put aside blame,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

George explained that the state High Elections Committee, initially comprising five members, had only two members\u2014himself and his colleague Kibatani\u2014present at the meeting due to other members’ prior engagements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also noted that the death of one committee member created a vacancy that needs to be filled to bolster the committee’s capacity for electoral activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are looking forward to having the vacant position filled so that we can be at full capacity to engage and run electoral activities in the state,” George said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Grace John Kenyi, Chairperson of the Civil Society Alliance, advocated for stronger collaboration between civil society organizations and the state electoral committee to promote peaceful, credible, and inclusive elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenyi made these remarks during the meeting, following civic education initiatives conducted in Kuda, Dolo Payam, Terekeka County, and Rajaf Payam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She highlighted that these activities allowed civil society teams to engage directly with communities, raise electoral awareness, and encourage participation, especially among women, youth, and persons with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our teams engaged directly with citizens on the ground to raise awareness and promote inclusive civic participation,” Grace said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She described the meeting as an opportunity to connect community experiences with electoral authorities and strengthen cooperation in anticipation of the elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Today’s meeting is of paramount importance because it bridges the gap between community-level realities and the state electoral leadership,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenyi added that the discussions would also facilitate sharing reports from civic education activities, exchanging information, and developing a joint strategy to disseminate accurate electoral information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The civil society itself is the bridge between the public and electoral institutions,”Grace stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She emphasized that civil society organizations require the commitment of electoral authorities to effectively educate citizens, advocate for inclusion, and safeguard democratic values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenyi urged both parties to strengthen their partnership through coordinated activities, regular communication, and joint public awareness campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I strongly urge both the State High Electoral Committee and our civil society alliance on elections to use this meeting as a stepping stone toward strengthening our collaboration, our partnership, coordination of joint action, and maintaining clear communication,” Kenyi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grace concluded that cooperation would help ensure that marginalized groups and other citizens have equal opportunities to participate in the electoral process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We can ensure that no citizen is left behind and that the upcoming election is peaceful, credible, and truly inclusive,” Kenyi said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A member of the Central Equatoria State High Elections Committee, Leone Lemeri George, has called on civil society organisations, electoral authorities and other stakeholders to strengthen cooperation and dialogue to ensure free, fair, credible and inclusive elections in South Sudan, urging the state to set an example for the rest of the country ahead of the planned December 2026 polls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tdlc_coverage_id":0,"_tdlc_timeline_at":"","_tdlc_timeline_label":"","_tdno_assigned_editor":1,"_tdno_approval_notes":"","_thedawn_video_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-following"],"yoast_head":"\nCentral Equatoria Elections Official Urges Unity to Ensure Credible 2026 Polls - The Dawn Newspaper<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thedawn.com.ss\/?p=828\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Central Equatoria Elections Official Urges Unity to Ensure Credible 2026 Polls - 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