The caretaker governor of Lakes State, Gen. Rin Tueny, has called upon armed opposition operating in Lakes State to cease violence and take part in peaceful general elections on 22 December.
The governor, who made the remarks during the swearing-in of the caretaker government in Rumbek, said the election is real and that there will be political space for all parties and freedom of movement to campaign in all eight counties of Lakes State.
“Our mission as a caretaker government of Lakes State is security, peace, and stability. We must create a conducive atmosphere for general elections on 22 December. Peace and security are a very tough mission, and we all know this,” he said. “We must take this challenge very seriously so that we have peace and security and we go for elections. Some people ask whether the election is real; this election is real.”
He said the recent violent intercommunal fighting in and around Rumbek Town manifested the challenges posed by insecurity.
“For people to fight in the periphery of the town until people fought themselves inside the territory of Rumbek Town, we start from here. We must engage our people, chiefs, intellectuals, and community leaders so that this situation must stop,” Tueny said. “We do not want conflicts between our citizens, and we do not want conflicts and fighting to reach inside the territory of Rumbek Town. Such an incident should never happen again.”
Governor Tueny said the December polls are the first since independence and that there should be political and civic space.
“This is the first general elections after South Sudan’s independence. We have parties that are interested in participating and competing in the election starting from the presidency up to the local government level,” he said. “Other parties need political space, and for me, I don’t have a problem with any party. If people want to go for mobilization and rallies, they are free, so take that message to them as ministers and leaders. If someone wants to go anywhere, make sure they have freedom of movement.”
“I want to assure other political parties here in the state that you are free to campaign peacefully, and if there is armed opposition in Lakes State, we want to tell them that we don’t want guns and violence during the elections,” Governor Tueny added.
Meanwhile, Daniel Laat Kon, the civil society chairperson in Lakes State, welcomed the governance stance and said state ministers and county commissioners should be impartial as directed by the governor.
“There is a need to provide a civic and political space, and there is no need to intimidate political parties, journalists, and civil society that are covering the election,” he said. “Our communities need to be reconciled. We are also calling on the governor to engage the Rumbek North community for peace to prevail. As civil society, we are here to work with the government and we shall work to monitor intimidation and any threats. We shall engage the government to know what is happening, and if directives are being violated, then we are not going to keep quiet.”
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