Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A civil society leader is calling on national lawmakers to ensure the 2025/2026 fiscal year budget is primarily “election-focused” to facilitate free, fair, and credible polls in December next year.
Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), emphasized that this prioritization by Parliament aligns with President Salva Kiir’s inaugural speech yesterday at the opening of the legislature in Juba.
Yakani noted that President Kiir had stressed that elections represent a viable path for transitioning the country from violence to peace.
Speaking to Eye Radio on Wednesday, July 16, Yakani appealed to the august house to hold the executive accountable, highlighting the critical need for an open civic and political space and an end to media censorship.
“We hope to see that if the MPs resume the sessions, they will look into the aspect of whether the budget has to be election-focused,” Yakani stated.
“The president said citizens need services. They don’t need promises or words. So this means we need to translate all the promises we made into actions for the best interest of the South Sudanese citizens. And of course, one of the South Sudanese needs what they want is they want peace and stability in the country.”
He reiterated President Kiir’s stance: “The President have made it very clear that elections are the only viable way for transitioning the country from violence to peace. But this election requires an agreement upon condition so that we can use the election as the best option for transitioning from violence to peace.”
Yakani directly challenged parliamentarians: “I want to call upon the parliamentarians. The ball is in your hands by the call of the president. People want services, people don’t want promises. And to the parliamentarians, for people to see services from your end as MPs after the opening of the parliament, it is for you to hold the executives accountable.”
He further stressed the importance of fundamental freedoms for a successful transition.
“I wish that the restrictive civic and political space should be opened up. We don’t want to see restrictions, censorship of media in accessing information, restrictions on events and restrictions on civil society engagements. We want to make sure that peace prevails.”
South Sudan has yet to conduct a general election since gaining independence in 2011.
The first polls were initially scheduled for July 2015 but were postponed due to the outbreak of civil war. Parliament has since extended the presidential term multiple times, citing instability.
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