Bishop questions conditions for elections

The auxiliary bishop of Juba, Santo Loku Pio Doggale, has raised concerns about the conditions for the upcoming elections in South Sudan. At a church event last week, Doggale criticized the preparation for voting, stating that essential foundations are still lacking. He asked, "How is it possible to hold elections when there is no census and no final constitution?" Without knowing the size and distribution of the population, elections are hardly conceivable. He referred to the census and final constitution as "foundations of the elections."

Legally, the government has since lifted the two previously required conditions. On September 1, the National Transitional Legislative Assembly passed an amendment to the 2011 transitional constitution. The discussions were held behind closed doors and concluded on the same day. Two days later, President Salva Kiir Mayardit signed the constitutional amendment. With this change, a national census and the adoption of a permanent constitution are no longer mandatory before elections can take place. Both points were originally stipulated in the 2018 peace agreement as prerequisites for the electoral process. The census and the drafting of a lasting federal constitution will now be addressed only after the election by a future elected government.

The elections are scheduled for December 22 and would be the first general elections in South Sudan since the country's independence in 2011. The Catholic bishops of the country had already called for peace and dialogue in July, emphasizing that decisions related to the electoral process must be based on mutual trust, the common good, and respect for constitutional order.