Democratic Elections in South Sudan
Authors: Matthew LeRiche, William Underwood, Augustino Ting Mayai
Type: Weekly Reviews
Date: 01/03/2022
Publication Summary
This week’s Review analyzes South Sudan’s readiness to conduct elections in under a year and reflects on why they are important. We start out with the discussion of the election’s fundamentals, then move to why elections are imperative in a post-conflict context. We then end our Review with policy perspectives that have the potential of improving/strengthening the process, preserving its integrity, and delivering credible and legitimate results, regardless of whether the elections will be conducted on time. Our stance is that the process, credibility, and associated legitimacy the elections need to produce are the most important elements rather than precise timing.
Matthew LeRiche is an Assistant Professor of Global Studies, Director War and Peace Studies, Director Global Leadership Center, Ohio University. He is a regular political risk analyst for industry and government. Author of various articles and chapters on South Sudan as well as the book South Sudan: From Revolution to Independence (Oxford University Press). Matthew holds a Ph.D. from King’s College London.
William Underwood is a doctoral (PhD) candidate in international law at Stockholm University and a visiting PhD researcher at the Sudd Institute. His thesis examines how international law influences processes of constitutional change after armed conflict. A former Australian diplomat, he holds master’s degrees in international law from the University of Melbourne, and in peace and conflict studies from Uppsala University.
Augustino Ting Mayai's Biography
Augustino Ting Mayai is the former Managing Director of the Sudd Institute. He is a founding Research Director of the same institution, serving in this capacity for a decade. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology, with concentrations on demography and development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently studies how state effectiveness affects child health outcomes in South Sudan and Ethiopia. Dr. Mayai has written extensively on South Sudan’s current affairs. August is the current Chair (Statistician General) of the National Bureau of Statistics, Government of South Sudan.