OPP says it support conduct of elections in December, urges citizens to prepare

JUBA – The leader of the Other Political Parties group (OPP), Kornelo Kon Ngu, urged citizens on Wednesday to prepare to vote in the December 2024 elections.

Kon made the remarks after meeting with President Salva Kiir Mayardit in Juba.

“OPP supports the conduct of elections in December 2024 to allow the people of South Sudan to choose their leaders in a free democratic process,” Kon said.

The opposition leader called on citizens to prepare for the first-ever general elections.

President Salva Kiir has said South Sudan’s long-delayed elections will happen in 2024 with him on the ballot for the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement party.

Kiir, president since South Sudan’s independence from Sudan in 2011, accepted his party’s endorsement at a rally in Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal, in July 2023.

However, the leader of the main armed opposition group SPLM-IO Riek Machar has requested a 24-month extension of the country’s transitional period to complete tasks necessary for elections.

The election would be the first national vote ever held in South Sudan.