The Deputy Governor of Central Equatoria State says the ongoing electoral process in South Sudan will provide an opportunity for greater political participation by women, youth and ordinary citizens at the grassroots level.

Paulino Lukudu Obede made the remarks during the launch of civic and voter registration awareness campaign in Juba yesterday.

He said for many years, political participation in the country has largely been dominated by elites, leaving many citizens excluded from decision-making processes.

He said elections will allow people to choose leaders who represent their interests and better understand the political programmes of different parties.

“I believe this exercise will expand the political participation to women, to the youth, and to the grassroots.”

The Deputy Governor said communities across the state are eager for an electoral process that will allow them to directly choose their leaders.

He added that the current political environment has made it difficult for citizens to distinguish between leaders who genuinely serve the public and those motivated by access to national resources.

“It is difficult to understand who is for the people and who is for the resources of the country. But this will be the competitive democratic exercise for people to know the political parties with their political ideologies,” he added

Lukudu said a competitive democratic process will help citizens assess political parties based on their policies and give more people a role in shaping the country’s future.