JUBA, South Sudan
South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar are divided on elections conduct, amid concerns over delays in the implementation of key provisions of the peace deal.
Kiir expressed his
frustrations on the delays in the polls at the swearing-in ceremony of newly
appointed SPLM national advisors, secretaries, and deputy secretaries.
“There are people who said
there are no elections. There is nobody who is more tired than me. I have five
deputy vice presidents and there is no country which has five vice presidents,”
explained the South Sudanese leader, adding “If my deputies are the ones who go
and encourage people who talk about no elections, I can tell them that there is
no extension of the agreement or roadmap”.
Kiir, who heads the country’s
ruling party (SPLM), warned his rivals against taking up arms should they fail
to win the elections scheduled for December next year.
He said elections would take
place, despite delays to implement key provisions in the peace agreement which
ended five years of the country’s bloody civil war.
The South Sudanese leader
reiterated his commitment to ensure elections are held, ruling out any
possibilities of extending the current transitional government.
“We are going for elections
and you should prepare yourselves. If we go for elections and you fail, do not
look back,” stressed Kiir, adding “There is nothing left behind unless you want
to run to the bush and you have to look for the person who will go with you to
the bush. Nobody will follow you to the bush again”.
But speaking during the
National Economic Conference held in Juba last week, Machar wondered how
elections would be held if key prerequisites are not met.
These prerequisites, according
the opposition leader, include screening, training, and deployment of the
necessary unified force, return of the internally displaced persons to their
home areas of origin, and return of refugees from neighboring countries to
which they fled during the war in search of security and safety.
In August last year, South
Sudan’s leaders signed a two-year extension of the transitional government, in
a move foreign partners warned as lacking legitimacy.
This was the second time the
parties extended the country’s transitional period.
Machar said implementation of
key provisions in the roadmap is behind schedule.
In July, the Special
Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in South Sudan, Nicholas
Haysom said the young nation could still make significant strides towards this
December 2024 target to hold elections with political will, adequate resourcing
and commitment to create an appropriate political environment.
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