Perceptions of National Elections in South Sudan: Findings from the 2023 Public Perceptions of Peace Survey

National elections are the planned endpoint of South Sudan’s post-civil war transition. They were already foreseen in the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) and have been confirmed in the 2018 revitalization of this agreement (R-ARCSS).

This policy brief explores several issues regarding the planned elections, especially perceptions of the South Sudanese public on when the elections should take place, what are the necessary preconditions, what are the main risks and which parties have the best political visions for the country. The briefing draws on a series of four opinion polls conducted between 2021 and 2023 by Detcro and the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform (PeaceRep). The polls captured the views of 13,325 people from 15 counties across all 10 states and one special administrative area, encompassing urban, rural and IDP camp environments. Respondents were asked questions about their daily experiences of safety based on indicators of everyday peace developed through qualitative research during the project’s inception phase. They also shared their views on a wide range of governance and security topics.