The Troika has reiterated call on South Sudan’s leaders to
urgently take steps necessary to ensure genuine and peaceful elections.
The country is expected to hold the first-ever general elections
this December.
However, the main opposition party, SPLM-IO, disagrees,
arguing that the key provisions in the September 2018 peace deal must be
implemented first.
“This process should address the ten questions posed by the
trilateral mechanism (UN, AU and IGAD),” writes UK, US, and Norway in a joint statement.
In July 2023, the Trilateral Mechanism that is the United
Nations (UN), African Union (AU) and IGAD presented a list of 10 questions to
be answered by the parties, to create clarity on the elections.
These include the level at which elections will be held, the participation of refugees, and various mechanisms for administration of elections and handling of complaints.
Others are the importance of agreeing on a voter
registration process, the census, or any other acceptable source of population
data.
These questions have so far not been dealt with by the
parties, nor an appropriate legal framework set up to resolve these issues,
according to UNMISS.
“Not taking these critical steps and so not allowing
elections would be a collective failure on the part of South Sudan’s leaders,”
Troika says in the statement issued on Tuesday.
The Chairperson of SPLM-IO, Dr. Riek Machar, insists that
since the key provision – the unification and deployment of forces has been
delayed – the extended transitional period should be extended for another 24
months.
On Tuesday, he called
for mediated dialogue among the parties to agree on the timeline for elections
and revision of the peace roadmap.
"I would like to welcome and express our support for
the proposal that the peace parties to the agreement dialogue on these issues
to chart a way forward for peaceful elections and the transition to
democracy," Machar said in a statement issued on Tuesday evening.
"In light of the challenges registered during the five
years of implementation, we would like to state that dialogue and its outcome
shall only be credible in the presence of the mediator."
However, the minister of Presidential Affairs says President Salva Kiir has tasked the civil society with recommending the possible ways to conduct the elections this year.
"We look to South Sudan’s leaders to demonstrate that they
share these values by honoring their own commitments to their people," Troika adds.