South Sudan parties agree to postpone key tasks ahead of elections
By Denis Ejulu
South Sudanese parties to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement on Friday said they have agreed to postpone the implementation of key tasks such as the permanent constitution-making process and the conduct of the population census ahead of the general elections scheduled for December 2026.
The minister for presidential Affairs, Africano Mande told reporters in Juba, that the resolutions were reached on Wednesday during the meeting of the presidency and all signatories to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
The meeting was attended by the ruling party Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) led by President Salva Kiir, SPLM-in opposition 9SPLM-IO) faction under Stephen Par Kuol, and other opposition parties such as the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), former political detainees (FDs) and the Other Political Parties (OPP)- a loose coalition of fringe opposition parties.
Mande, while reading out the communiqué of the presidency said that the parties resolved not to further extend the current transitional period beyond 2026.
The parties have extended the transitional period four times since signing the revitalized peace agreement in 2018 to end years of conflict, which broke out in December 2013.
Mande noted that the parties agreed to the amendment of certain provisions of the R-ARCSS in the 2011 transitional constitution which are critical for the establishment of the necessary legal framework for the conduct of the general election.
They also agreed to establish a committee to initiate the required amendments of the R-ARCSS and present them to the leaderships of the various signatories to the R-ARCSS.
In addition, they also directed for the immediate completion of the long-awaited transitional security arrangements as prescribed under chapter two of the peace agreement, and also directed the ministry of finance and planning to immediately allocate necessary funds for the operationalization of the election- related activities.
South Sudan is currently experiencing intermittent fighting between the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and a faction of the opposition- Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in opposition (SPLM/A-IO) led by former First Vice President Riek Machar, who is currently under house arrest.
Machar is also facing trial before a special court on charges of treason, murder and crimes against humanity following clashes in Nasir County, Upper Nile state since March between the SSPDF and the White Army- militia allied to the SPLA-IO.
The government troops have recently continued to carry out aerial strikes against rebel positions in Upper Nile, Unity and Jonglei states, and heightening fears of a return full blown conflict in the youngest nation.
