South Sudan Rejects UN-Run Elections

By Megan Reed | Published on: November 6, 2014 Comments (0)

South Sudan’s government said it would not accept future elections or a census to be conducted by the United Nations, arguing it would undermine national sovereignty

“South Sudan is a sovereign country with sovereign institutions. If there is going to be elections, they will have to be organised by the people of South Sudan,” presidential spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny told the Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.

“The role of the international community, including the United Nations, should be limited to support,” he added.

Ateny reiterated the government’s plans to hold elections in 2015 in accordance with the transitional constitution.

The government is seeking to reinforce its legitimacy to run the affairs of the country should it fail to reach an agreement with rebels under the leadership of former vice-president Riek Machar on the formation of a government of national unity.

“The people of South Sudan will conduct elections in 2015 as planned and the role of the international community will play for democratic purposes is to support the process, but if they do not [provide] support, any sovereign country can organise its own elections and this is what will happen,” Ateny said in an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune.

Ateny was reacting to a proposal by the country’s rebel faction that was seeking for future elections and census to be conducted by the United Nations in order to ensure credibility.

The comments come days after the head of the election commission told governors that the international community was not willing to support the conduct of the elections, although the government had asked states to make preparations.

South Sudan’s rebel faction is opposed to the general elections and census being conducted by the government.

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Still independent.

Related Stories

‘Not Acceptable’: Namibia Rejects Germany’s $11.7M Offer to Atone for Colonial-Era Genocide of Tens of Thousands of African People

‘Saving Our Own Souls’: ABS CEO, Ugandan Activist Plea for an African Nation to Welcome Black People Being Airlifted Out of China

Outrage Ensues After French Doctors Suggest Deploying Experimental Coronavirus Treatment to Africa: ‘They See Africans as Lab Rats’