{"id":48525,"date":"2026-10-03T14:30:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T12:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=48525"},"modified":"2026-10-06T14:38:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:38:39","slug":"ssunde-calls-for-urgent-action-to-address-security-challenges-ahead-of-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/03\/ssunde-calls-for-urgent-action-to-address-security-challenges-ahead-of-election\/","title":{"rendered":"SSuNDE calls for urgent action to address security challenges ahead of election"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lodu William Odiya<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The South Sudanese Network for Democracy and Elections (SSuNDE) and the East and Horn of Africa Election Observation Network (E-HORN) have called for urgent, coordinated, and measurable action to address outstanding institutional, legal, operational, security, and civic-space challenges ahead of South Sudan\u2019s scheduled 22 December 2026 elections.<\/p>\n

The call follows the 2026 South Sudan Country Forum, held in Juba from 23\u201324 September 2026 under the theme \u201cReady or Not: Assessing South Sudan\u2019s Preparedness for the 22 December 2026 Elections.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Forum assessed electoral preparedness across the legal and constitutional framework, institutional readiness, voter registration and electoral logistics, civic and political space, security conditions, inclusive participation, access to reliable information, and electoral complaints and dispute-resolution mechanisms.<\/p>\n

James Okony Dau, Chairman of SSuNDE, said the remaining time requires urgent, coordinated, and measurable action by all institutions and stakeholders within their respective mandates.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn election is not simply an event that takes place on polling day. Credibility depends on the preparedness of electoral institutions, an enabling civic and political environment, inclusive participation, reliable information, adequate security, and accessible mechanisms for addressing electoral complaints and disputes,\u201d Okony said.<\/p>\n

Okony further emphasised the importance of regular public communication and transparency concerning electoral preparations, particularly considering the compressed electoral timetable and the number of interconnected tasks that remain to be completed.<\/p>\n

Lony Ruot emphasised that electoral preparedness is an institutional and systemic responsibility, adding that the gaps identified cannot be treated as isolated technical issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey require coordinated action by electoral institutions, security institutions, the judiciary, political actors, and other relevant stakeholders,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is required now is a coordinated readiness mechanism with clear responsibilities, measurable benchmarks, regular public reporting, and practical measures to address identified financial, logistical, technical, and human-resource gaps,” Ruot added.<\/p>\n

Ruot also stressed the importance of protecting constitutional freedoms and ensuring that security measures facilitate, rather than unduly restrict, lawful civic and political participation.<\/p>\n

He reaffirmed the revitalised agreement as the legal and political framework for the transitional period and called for its continued respect and implementation.<\/p>\n

Additionally, he urged the political leadership to sustain cooperation and respect the collegial arrangements among the parties signatory to the R-ARCSS while addressing differences through dialogue and constructive engagement.<\/p>\n

Ruot further called for an inclusive and meaningful national dialogue on the future of South Sudan, bringing together political actors and other relevant stakeholders to help chart a peaceful and nationally owned way forward.<\/p>\n

He emphasised that continued commitment to the R-ARCSS, inclusive dialogue, and respect for constitutional freedoms are essential to advancing sustainable peace and supporting South Sudan\u2019s transition towards democratic governance.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Dr. Kennedy Masime, representative of E-HORN, stated that inclusive participation must remain at the centre of the electoral process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen, young people, persons with disabilities, displaced persons, returnees, and other underserved communities must have meaningful opportunities to participate throughout the electoral cycle,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe electoral process also requires accessible and reliable information. Misinformation and disinformation, weak data-protection safeguards, and barriers to information can undermine public confidence and disproportionately affect communities that already face difficulties accessing reliable information,\u201d Masime added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call for strengthened civic and voter education, accurate and accessible electoral information, protection of personal and electoral data, responsible media reporting, and an enabling environment for peaceful and meaningful civic and political participation,” he said.<\/p>\n

He said the region stands in solidarity with the people and the government of South Sudan in supporting the country\u2019s transition from conflict to lasting peace through a lawful, credible, inclusive, and peaceful electoral process, anchored in respect for the agreement and the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, 2011, as amended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lodu William Odiya The South Sudanese Network for Democracy and Elections (SSuNDE) and the East and Horn of Africa Election Observation Network (E-HORN) have called for urgent, coordinated, and measurable action to address outstanding institutional, legal, operational, security, and civic-space challenges ahead of South Sudan\u2019s scheduled 22 December 2026[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":48526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news","category-politics"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/NEC.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48527,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48525\/revisions\/48527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}