South Sudan to hold general elections in May, July

A government spokesman in South Sudan says the country will hold general elections in the coming months, as it reels from a civil war that has plagued the world’s youngest country for over a year.

Ateny Wek Ateny announced late on Wednesday that South Sudan will hold general elections between May and July.

He further noted that the central government in Juba will grant amnesty to rebels in order to encourage a higher voter turnout.

“We will hold elections in 2015 as we will not allow our democracy to be held hostage to violence. A budget has been approved and we urge all parties to participate. In South Sudan, power will not be attained by way of guns but rather by ballots,” Ateny said.

The senior South Sudanese official added that President Salva Kiir has given assurances that the polls will be transparent and an accurate reflection of the popular will.

Brigadier General Lul Koang Ruai, a spokesman for the rebels, dismissed the general elections and amnesty offer, asserting that anti-government forces have perpetrated no crime. He also expressed doubt on the credibility of the upcoming polls.

“We don’t believe the elections the government is talking about will be free and fair. We will not take part in it,” Ruai said.

South Sudan plunged into violence in December 2013, when fighting erupted between troops loyal to Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy, Riek Machar, around the capital, Juba. The conflict soon turned into an all-out war between the army and defectors, with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension that pitted the president’s Dinka tribe against Machar’s Nuer ethnic group.

The clashes have left tens of thousands of South Sudanese dead, and forced almost two million people to flee their homes in the world’s youngest country.

South Sudan gained independence in July 2011 after its people overwhelmingly voted in a referendum for a split from Sudan.