Alex Bullen
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Vice Chancellor of the University of Juba, Prof. John Akec, backtracked on his earlier position, supporting the 2024 planned elections, as he claimed on Monday that the country is not yet ripe for a democratic transition.
The VC alleged in his post on X that the country lacks a sound security apparatus to deal with security threats. Hence, conducting an election at this juncture would prove dangerous.
“The army currently in place in the nation is poorly trained, politically oriented, and underfunded, and it cannot be trusted to act impartially or professionally when holding elections,” he alleged.
He further added: “An ethnically composed, politically aligned, poorly trained, under-resourced army cannot be relied upon to be professional or politically neutral during the conduct of elections, as pandits want us to believe. This country is not ripe for a democratic transition.”
Professor Akec recommended that instead, the nation should take its time “reviving its economy and fortifying its governing institutions, such as the military and law enforcement,” before contemplating a democratic transition.
“I am talking a decade or two for the country to be politically mature enough to undertake peaceful, free, and credible elections,” he added.
A few weeks ago, the academics clashed with the political activist Wani Michael, who argued that the election cannot be used to legitimise a presidential election given that the most crucial pre-electoral tasks under the roadmap are yet to be fulfilled. But in his response, the VP said elections do legitimise presidential wins.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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