South Sudan: the government extends the duration of the transition by two years
President Salva Kiir (L) and Vice-President Riek Machar in Juba, April 3, 2022 (illustrative image) AFP - PETER LOUIS GUME
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The elections originally scheduled for December will be postponed for two years.
President Salva Kiir, his first vice-president, Riek Machar, as well as the other political parties that signed the 2018 peace agreement agreed on a 24-month extension of the transition period.
A civil war broke out in the country in 2013, only two years after its independence in 2011.
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With our correspondent in Juba,
Florence Miettaux
The implementation of the 2018 agreement is extremely laborious and essential clauses for the holding of elections have still not been applied.
But public reactions to this extension are mixed.
"
We do not want to rush you into an election that will plunge you back into war
": this is how Salva Kiir, speaking this Thursday, August 4 on behalf of all the signatories of the peace agreement in South Sudan, justified the postponement of the elections for two years.
And this, in order to implement certain essential tasks, such as the realization of a census of the population or the drafting of the permanent Constitution of the country.
The training and deployment of the forces of the new unified army is another key point of the agreement that has still not been implemented.
Polls conducted by the civil society organization CEPO show the support of a majority of South Sudanese for a postponement, so that credible elections can take place.
But on social networks, condemnations are raining down.
"
This extension is the result of a lack of political will
" writes a user.
Many fear the lack of concrete progress once the postponement is adopted.
The ambassadors of Norway, the United States and Great Britain criticized the lack of inclusiveness of the consultations.
In a letter to Salva Kiir, they also ask for “
measures allowing this time to make clear progress
”.
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South Sudan