WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Elections in South Sudan scheduled for December are in danger of not being a credible process without immediate action, a senior U.S. State Department official cautioned on Friday, pointing out that the government is behind in its preparations.
In an interview with Reuters, the official was asked whether the upcoming election could turn into a sham process, to which they responded yes unless urgent measures are taken.
South Sudan is gearing up for national elections later this year to select new leaders to take over from the current transitional government, which consists of President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, whose forces were at odds during the civil war from 2013 to 2018.
In 2022, Kiir announced that the transitional government would remain in power for an additional two years, postponing the scheduled elections.
Regarding the likelihood of the elections proceeding as planned in December, the U.S. official stated, “I give it 50/50.”
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, cautioned that the U.S. would consider options such as sanctions and adjustments to its diplomatic approach in South Sudan if the elections were postponed or if violence erupted.
“If there’s either a delay or violence, I think we would look at the whole suite of options, including sanctions,” the official remarked.
Other alternatives might involve reviewing Washington’s development aid and other forms of engagement, the official added.
A spokesperson for the South Sudan government did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan Peter Lord visited the country last week and urged South Sudan’s leaders to take the necessary steps to ensure credible and peaceful elections in December, as per the embassy.
Although South Sudan has technically been at peace since a 2018 agreement that ended a five-year conflict resulting in numerous deaths, sporadic violence between rival groups still occurs.
However, the U.S. official on Friday cautioned that South Sudan had not fulfilled commitments made two years ago, such as conducting a census, formulating a constitution, and establishing all essential democratic institutions for the elections to proceed.
The official noted that electoral bodies had only recently been put in place, and there has been no comprehensive or deliberate process.
The senior official believes that Kiir is in favor of holding the elections for the legitimacy they would provide, but there are individuals around him, including Machar, who oppose them out of concern for losing in a political competition.
Machar and others advocate for completing all elements of the extended peace agreement before moving forward with the elections, acknowledging that there isn’t enough time to accomplish everything, the official revealed.
Kiir and his allies are using Machar’s stance and other obstructive actions, like withholding a list of names for unified forces, as an excuse for not taking further action, the official alleged.
Civil society in South Sudan also acknowledges that insufficient progress has been made, the official added.
“There is a lot of concern that there will be bad violence. So there’s a high appetite for elections, but they also know that the … government hasn’t done what it needs to do.”
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Don Durfee and Jonathan Oatis)
