South Sudan’s would-be elections ‘rigged’ before it is held – Gen. Buay Rolnyang

JUBA, SEPTEMBER 1, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan former army commander turned rebel leader Gen. Stephen Buay Rolnyang, has accused President Salva Kiir of rigging the country’s upcoming elections before they have even been held.

In an interview with the Sudans Post, Buay called on the international community not to play around with the peace roadmap signed by him and opposition leader Riek Machar in August last year, saying Kiir should not be allowed to talk about elections which he claimed have already been rigged.

“My message to the international community is that they should not allow Salva to manipulate this road map, or what is called the agreement which is already signed,” he said in an interview this morning.

“They should not even allow Salva to talk about elections because why should people vote for election when he has already rigged the election before even the election is held?” he asked.

Buay is the leader of South Sudan People’s Movement/Army (SSPM/A) that was formed in 2021. He is a senior member of the National Consensus Forum that is calling for a round table process to address the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan.

South Sudan is set in 2024 for its first election since gaining independence from Sudan in July 2011. The country has been in a deadly civil war fought along ethnic lines with Nuer supporting Machar, the first vice president and SPLM-IO leader, against Kiir, who is also the leader of the ruling SPLM faction.

Observers and activists have warned against a premature election as they have expressed the need for full implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.