Sheila Ponnie
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Chairman of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), Dr Lam Akol, stressed the need for a conducive environment to conduct the 2024 elections although he remains unsure whether he will vie or not.
Akol made the remarks during a press conference after meeting the NDM party members in Juba on Thursday.
Asked if he was ready to contest the December 2024 election, he said, “the decision whether to stand or not for a presidential candidate will be decided by the party members.”
“We have not yet arrived at that, first of all, let us make sure that the election is coming.”
“If you talk to anybody in the street now, they are very skeptical when people say there will be an election in 2024.”They say this is not true; this thing has not been done,” Akol explained.
“We are going to prepare for a convention, and that convention will decide who is a flag bearer. Who is going to contest in which constituency and who is going to contest as a president, so will be a decision of [the party];not me.”
Also, he dismissed any premature plan to form a coalition with the ruling party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, in the upcoming election.
“This is a question of cooperation between parties; you cannot ask me when we did not agree on how to cooperate.”
“Our mission now is to talk to the parties, either individually or collectively, who have signed the agreement. This is what we are saying, which would also be part of the discussion on whether we can cooperate as two parties or not. So we don’t want to cross the bridge before we reach,” Akol stated.
According to him, creating a conducive environment for elections begins with political parties’ ability to better understand each other and discuss their differences.
“We should create a situation where each and every person, not only a party, is free to go anywhere around South Sudan to disseminate their message as a party.”
He said everyone, including the journalists, should be able to go anywhere without anyone else censoring them.
Akol said such is what will convince the people that there is going to be an election in 2024.
“But, now if you have some SPLM-IO going to Aweil, and they are chased away and some SPLM-IG going to Fangak, and they are chased away, this cannot be an atmosphere for election,” he stated.
The leader of NDM also appealed to parties to the peace agreement to reach an agreement on the essential remaining obligations.
He said the ultimate unification of the armed forces, the permanent constitution-making process, and the reconstitution of the independent electoral body are very pressing conditions for the election to take place.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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