Dr. Lam Akol, leader of the National Democratic Party. | File photo.

The National Democratic Movement has voiced skepticism on the possibility of holding a free and fair election in the country.

In a press statement seen by Eye Radio, the Acting Spokesperson Mahmoud Abdelrahman Akot said the unity government is far behind the schedule in resolving the critical outstanding tasks in the agreement.

The right-hand man of Dr. Lam Akol pointed out that, there are only six months left to the time of General Election as specified in the 2018 peace deal.

“Prerequisites for conducting free, fair and credible elections have not been fulfilled. These the unification of the armed forces, conduct of a population census, and adopting a permanent constitution for the country,” Mahmoud said.

The opposition spokesman also cited judicial reform, repatriation and resettlement of the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons as well as the enactment of laws that are necessary for the process.

Abdelrahman claimed the peace process is stagnated by lack of political will, as well as an intended action to get the interim period extended.

“There was a deliberate action since 2018, to stonewall the implementation process, to keep the status quo and get the transitional period extended for those involved to buy themselves a new lease on time,” said the party spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for South Sudan acknowledged and commended some achievements in the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, early this week.

Nicholas Haysom, who is the head of UN Mission in the country applauded the unity government for having overcome the critical impasse and reaching a breakthrough on the Joint Command Structure of the Unified Forces.

“The parties have been able to overcome a critical impasse to reach a breakthrough agreement on a single joint command structure for the Necessary Unified Forces,” said Nicholas Haysom in a statement this week.

A presidential source, and that of the Joint Defense Board have disclosed recently, that at least 50,000 of the unified forces will graduate before the end of this month.

However, with only a week left out of June, neither the timetable for the purported graduation ceremony nor the other necessary preparations have been availed yet.

Spokespman Abdelrahman claims the principals to the agreement are dragging their feet in order to obtain “a blanket extension of the transitional period.”

He said an extension will not serve any useful purpose other than to fulfill the designs of those whom he alleges have obstructed the implementation of the peace agreement.

The opposition movement under the SSOA coalition said in the statement that it supports neither the extension nor a rushed election, but rather “preparing the ground for the conduct of a free and fair election.”

The NDM statement also appealed to the regional and international observers to keep an eye on the peace deal.

“They cannot at this critical time shake off responsibility and say that it is a matter for the South Sudanese to decide. If it were for the South Sudanese alone to decide, there would have been no need for a mediation,” reads the press release.

National Democratic Movement is a member of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties signatory to the peace deal that it is pelting with a barrage of criticisms.

The government in Juba has not commented on the matter.