Women leaders and journalists pose for a group photo during a three-day election workshop. – Photo credit: Hellen Samuel.

Women leaders and parliamentarians are calling for the safe and equal participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities in the upcoming elections.

The call was made during a three-day training this week aimed at preparing women to take up leadership roles in politics and the media and participate effectively in the elections.

The training was organized under the theme, “Her Voice, her vote: Women leading and reporting South Sudan’s 2026 elections.”

It was organized by the National Transformational Leadership Institute – NTLI at the University of Juba, in partnership with the School of Journalism, Media and Communication Studies, with support from the International Civil Society Action Network.

In a joint communique issued at the end of the training, participants said credible elections in December 2026 require the full, safe and equal participation of women, youth and persons with disabilities at every stage.

Adeng Kornelio Koriom, Head of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at the University of Juba, said the training provided an opportunity for women in politics and the media to prepare for the elections and strengthen their participation.

“This training has come up with some resolutions and some is to build a network to that connects female journalists and female politicians and to continue to build bridges between media and women in politics and also to open opportunities and communication channels between media and women in politics to give them an opportunity to share their vision and what they are doing in terms of leadership to inspire the upcoming generation of women leaders,” she said.

Meanwhile, Viola Samuel Satti, MP and Chairperson of the Women Parliamentary Caucus at the National Transitional Legislative Assembly, said women’s meaningful participation in politics should be visible from the lowest to the highest level of government.

“Women participation in leadership should not be only about adding the numbers but rather it should communicate volumes that will only come when women participate meaningfully at all levels of the government starting from the Boma up to the highest level of the government at the National,” she asserted.

“If we are talking about the numbers of women is dropping. It can never be the responsibility of the legislators alone. Let us bring forth our issues, let us grab our spaces because it will never be given to us. The 35 percent is not a gift that is given to women rather, women worked for it and we can even go beyond that,” she added.

The communique also highlights the commitment of female journalists to ethical and gender-sensitive reporting.

Female leaders and security actors also committed to supporting, protecting and monitoring peaceful elections in 2026.