Why citizens must prepare for the 2023 election

There have been several discussions about whether South Sudan will go to the polls after the end of the transitional period in 2023 or not.  

However, many citizens doubt the possibility of conducting general elections in 2023 due to the long list of pending tasks that lie within and outside the revitalised peace agreement.

Several issues need to be addressed, and some prerequisites need to be met for the election to take place. We are all aware that it is less than one year to the end of the transitional period, but a lot of things have not been done.

The parliament has not yet passed the constitution-making process bill, which is necessary for reviewing the current constitution.

It is the constitution that guides the selection process, and without it, the possibility of holding the election is zero. The graduation of the unified forces also plays a major role in the provision of security, but this process has been delayed.  So, the lack of security to provide safety to the citizens before and after the elections means a lot to the voters. 

Besides, there is a need for the census, voters’ registration, as well as their education on the expected election. This all needs to be done within the remaining time frame before the end of the transitional period, which looks impossible. There are issues of border demarcation, which is very important in determining the geographical constituencies of the candidates and voters as well.

However, the presidential spokesman, Ateny Wek Ateny, in January assured the citizens that President Salva Kiir was not ready to delay elections as had been stipulated in the Revitalised Agreement on Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (RARCSS).

“President Kiir is willing to go for elections though there are some of the chapters within the RACRSS that are running a bit late,” he said, adding that officials are doing their best to unify the forces “in a timely manner’’, Ateny said as quoted by Anadolu Agency.

While some parties to the peace agreement have shown signs of preparation for the elections, most citizens look unprepared, and the majority of them have not decided on what changes they expect from their aspiring candidates to be. In other countries, voters often focus on leaders who can address their concerns.

 Like in the ongoing presidential campaign in South Korea, opinion polls have revealed that the voters are looking for someone who can tackle corruption, as well as deal with soaring prices and deepening inequality.

In our neighbouring country, Kenya, the citizens are also preparing for the election due to take place this year, and we believe they also have reasons why they are going to the polls. The voters do not just go to the polls because it is a tradition that there should be an election after every five years.

The voters always have guiding principles based on the experience of lives they had gone through.  Also, in South Sudan, as the politicians prepare for the 2023 elections, the citizens also start need to prepare themselves and have in mind, the objectives as to why they need to participate in the upcoming elections.  They need to be very objective in choosing their leaders.