Machar’s deputy warns elections may not take place over funding shortage

JUBA, JULY 24, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – The deputy leader of South Sudan’s main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) Oyet Nathaniel on Sunday warned that elections may not take place as planned in 2024 due to funding gap.

Speaking during a press conference in Juba on Sunday, Oyet said that the country’s 2023/2024 fiscal budget did not allocate funds for implementation of the country’s revitalized peace agreement, something he said may badly affect conduct of elections at the end of the transitional period.

“The failure to allocate resources for the implementation of these critical tasks may affect the roadmap, including the conduct of elections by December 22, 2024,” he told journalists.

Oyet who is also the first deputy speaker of the Reconstitution Transitional National Legislative Assembly called on the government to allocate more funds to the tasks seen as prerequisites to conduct of elections and to ensure elections are held in a free, fair, and transparent manner.