South Sudan “not ready” for “free, fair” presidential election, UN mission head says

By DENG MACHOL
Associated Press

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — The head of the U.N. mission in South Sudan says the country is not yet ready to hold its first election in the coming year. The head of UNMISS said he shared “frank views” expressed by some government officials, political parties, and civil society that the country was “at this point not ready” for “free, fair and credible elections.” The mission head cited the lack of a reconstituted electoral body and a political parties council as reasons for skepticism. South Sudan plans to hold its first election in December 2024 which is viewed as a culmination of the peace agreement signed nearly five years ago to pull the world’s youngest nation out of fighting that killed some 400,000 people.