The African Union is preparing to deploy election experts to South Sudan, including at least one specialist to be based in Juba for an extended period. This move aims to support the National Elections Commission as the country prepares for its December polls. The AU reiterated its commitment to supporting elections in South Sudan and said it was in the process of dispatching election experts to the country.
Patience Zanelie Chiradza, Director of Governance and Conflict Prevention in the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, stated that the AU is working on logistical arrangements to send experts to help the NEC. The AU wants to help establish an election situation room in South Sudan, where various institutions and organizations can converge to monitor the elections and compare notes on the democratic process.
The African Union further said it would like the NEC to provide an election roadmap to enable it to mobilize more resources to support the process. The AU is ready to support trainings, civic and voter education, and noted that Nigeria has offered to support South Sudan's elections. The AU will also ask other member states to help.
On Tuesday, Hon. Gabriel Bol Deng, Chairperson of the National Elections Commission, met with officials from the African Union's Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, led by Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the meeting, Hon. Bol discussed the NEC's readiness for the upcoming December polls, noting that voter registration is set to begin in early November.
Hon. Bol stated that everything is in place for voter registration to begin, and the primary hurdle facing the process is a lack of adequate resources for civic and voter education, voter registration, and the required logistics. However, he assured the AU officials that the Government of South Sudan remained committed to providing the necessary funding.
Hon. Bol urged the African Union to support the polls in South Sudan, highlighting that the government had so far provided funding to the commission, enabling it to carry out several activities. The NEC Chairperson also met with Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Khaled, the Ambassador of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union.
The NEC Chairperson said the institution had already recruited 22,127 workers who would be deployed to manage the polls planned for December 22. South Sudan is scheduled to hold general elections in December 2026, three months before the expiration of the 2018 Peace Agreement, which mandates the country's transition to a democratic system of governance.
Key points
- The African Union is deploying election experts to South Sudan to support the National Elections Commission ahead of the December polls.
- The AU wants to help establish an election situation room in South Sudan to monitor the elections.
- South Sudan is set to hold general elections in December 2026, the first general elections for the East African country since gaining independence in 2011.
