Africa-Press – South-Sudan. By Fatuma Asha Ali
A veteran politician Thompson Thon Teny has cast doubt on the possibility of the country going for general elections at end of the transitional period in 2023.
Mr. Teny argued that free and fair could not be achieved given the fact that a number of tasks including the graduation of unified forces – part of the security arrangements and completion of the permanent constitution stipulated in the 2018 peace agreement, were still pending.
“The 2023 general elections will not be able to take place …. people talk about elections while there are some links, some institutions (which) have some links with elections that need to be organized first.
“Five things need to be executed for elections to take place. First, the security arrangement and establishment of the National Army if not implemented, elections will not be run.
“Second, there will not be any election if the Permanent Constitution has not been made as well as the establishment of a council of Political Parties Affairs,” said Teny in an exclusive interview with Juba Monitor yesterday.
The leader also said there was the need to reorganize local boundaries and conduct a national census to determine the population of constituencies. “There should be organized because local boundaries are necessary if you want to make the election. You will also need to start it by population census,” he said.
He added that refugees and IDPs need to be repatriated and resettled back in their homes and to participate in the electoral process. “We have more refugees in Uganda, in Kenya, in Ethiopia, and many more in Khartoum who must be part of this electoral process. So, security must be made a priority to allow for a favorable environment,” he said.
“So, a free and fair election is not an easy task, we are supposed to execute peace first and then we can think of carrying out national elections,” he said.
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