May 4th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – The United Nations has warned South Sudan government not to conducts elections before lasting is achieved in the young African country.
The Assistant Secretary General for the United Nations Peace-keeping Operations, Bintou Keita, say that the world body urges the South Sudan government to reject any plan regarding the conducts of elections in the country before peace between various warring parties is achieved pointing out that the current political and economic situation in the country is not conducive for the conduct of a free and fair elections.
Last months, high-ranking government officials, including the minister of information Michael Makuei Lueth, said the government will conduct elections should the next round of the High-Level Revitalization Forum fail to bring peace to the country or collapse.
Makuei’s remarks followed a demand tabled by the Opposition Alliance that the incumbent South Sudan leader, Salva Kiir, and prominent opposition leader, Riek Machar, should be excluded from the upcoming transitional government arguing that the two have failed to bring peace during successive government they have co-led.
Keita said the United Nations reject any alternative pans that are not driven by the IGAD led peace talks.
“This is not at all fromeconomic perspective, from political perspective, from a humanitarian perspective – a coountry where it is conducive right now to go through any meaningful elections,” he said pointing out that “the only plan is the high-level revitalization forum.”
For his part however, government spokesman and information minister Michael Makuei Lueth said his government doesn’t need a consent from anybody before holding elections pointing out that conducting elections during crisis is a normal global practice.
