The United Nations has called on the South Sudanese government to accelerate the drafting of a new constitution for the war and famine-ravaged nation before South Sudan’s 2024 elections. The UN Secretary-General’s special envoy for the east African nation, Nicholas Haysom, said that the drafting of the constitution presents “a critical opportunity” for South Sudan’s parties to agree on arrangements that would allow them to live together harmoniously, and avoid a repeat of the two civil wars that defined the last decade.
Haysom emphasized that the new constitution would enable South Sudanese to establish how they want to be governed and consolidate their identity. He also urged the government to immediately re-form and fund the commission responsible for drafting the constitution, expedite the establishment of the constitutional drafting committee, and reconvene parliament following its lengthy recess.
The UN has received an official request from the government to assist in the running of the polls, which have been delayed for nearly a decade due to various crises. The elections will take place amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the country. The South Sudanese Minister for Cabinet Affairs Martin Elia Lomuro recently wrote to UNMISS, urging the mission to support legislative, institutional, and consultative components of the peace agreement to ensure that South Sudan’s 2024 elections would be credible.
South Sudan’s 2024 elections
The vote was pushed from next year to December 2024 after parties to the peace deal extending the transitional period by two years. There have been no other declared candidates for president in South Sudan’s 2024 elections, but former rebel leader and long-time Kiir rival, Riek Machar, is expected to run. Machar currently serves as one of the country’s vice presidents.
Image Credit: MICHAEL TEWELDE / AFP
