Juba, South Sudan
July 29, 2022 — South Sudan’s parties to the revitalized peace agreement have reached consensus on the extension of the transitional period to continue to rule the country without elections, the chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers disclosed.
The SPLM-IG led by President Salva Kiir and opposition groups signed a peace agreement in 2018 that stopped five years of civil war; however, the implementation of the important provisions in the agreement remains challenging and the agreement is expected to lose its legitimacy by February of next year, 2023.
The purpose of peace deal was to prepare parties in a transitional unity government to hold general elections before February 2023 but that may not be possible.
While the citizens and members of the international community wants an election conducted to democratically elect a government the elites think they will have difficulties administering an election.
“In Juba, I met with President Salva Kiir Mayardit, First Vice President Dr Riek Machar and Vice President Hussein Abdelbaqi. The meetings I have had focused on the progress made in the implementation of the peace agreement and the challenges,” Ali Al-Sadiq, the Acting Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs told media on Wednesday.
Al-Sadiq, who doubles as Chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers, said he discussed with South Sudan leaders the possibility of extending the transitional government lifespan as the conduct of general elections requires preparations.
“The remaining period is not enough for the elections to take place, so the idea to extend the transitional period came up during the discussions. This is what the parties have agreed on, and the president will announce it,” al-Sadiq said.
Al-Sadiq stressed that the extension of the transitional period will give the transitional government ample time to implement critical tasks of the peace agreement that will pave a way to a conducive environment for elections.
He also reacted on U.S ‘s recent decision to suspend funding to the security mechanisms of the South Sudan peace agreement and termed it as “Unfortunate”.
“The US decision was unfortunate, and we talked to the US chargé d’Affaires in Khartoum about it so that they can reconsider the decision, but they informed us that the decision was final.”, Al-Sadiq added.
According to top Sudanese Diplomat, the African Union (AU), the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and other partners would try to mobilize funds to support peace mechanisms in South Sudan.
“So we need to move so that we try to fill the gap left by the United States. We also need to prove to the world that it is not necessarily that we rely heavily on Western support, so this is what we are trying to do in the IGAD,” al-Sadiq said.
He affirmed that the relations between Sudan and South Sudan are close and strong, pointing out that it is important for the two countries to open border crossings to improve trade activities.
“There is an agreement on the opening of border crossings and there are no any reservations on this matter. However, there are some logistical complications at the borders and both sides are working to remove the hurdles in the near future,” he said.
According to Minister Al-Sadiq, there is a standing policy in Sudan that citizens from South Sudan should be treated as Sudanese in all walks of life in the country.
“If something contrary to that has happened, it is not a government policy, we consider it as an isolated case,” he concluded.
The extension narrative of the transitional period is being criticized by activists who viewed it as Kiir-Machar interest rather than a public interest of all South Sudanese.
The government has not confirmed nor denied so far the extension speculations of the government lifespans as being rumored on social media and other media outlets.
