South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has promised to lead his party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, into the nation's first ever national elections in 2024. Kiir made the announcement at a stadium event in Bahr el Ghazal, where he was endorsed by the ruling party. “I am deeply touched by your endorsement and your continued support to our historic party,” Kiir said. “As party members, let us work on the basis that there will be no extension of the transitional period and we have to go for the elections.” Kiir is expected to face off with his long-time rival, First Vice President Riek Machar, who must yet to confirm his candidacy.

The opposition has criticised the government for a supposed lack of political will to hold elections, but Kiir has expressed his commitment to free and fair elections. South Sudan achieved independence from Sudan in 2011, but has since been plagued by violence, both in the form of a five-year civil war and intermittent clashes since then. The conflict has cost the lives of almost 400,000 people, and 2,240 last year alone, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. The United Nations has condemned South Sudan's leadership for the violence it has stoked as well as its crackdown on political freedoms and its plundering of public funds.

In March, the UN envoy to South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, warned that the country’s leaders needed to implement the peace agreement to hold “inclusive and credible” elections in 2024. Despite the many issues facing South Sudan, President Salva Kiir remains committed to ushering in the nation's first ever national elections in 2024. With the commitment of the ruling party and the government’s assurance to make sure all the necessary elements for the elections are in place, South Sudan may finally have free and fair elections for the first time in its history.