South Sudan parties reach consensus to extend transitional period by 24 months

JUBA – South Sudan’s warring parties have reached a consensus to extend the transitional period for another 24 months, further delaying elections initially slated for December 2024, officials with direct knowledge say.

The decision marks the fourth extension of the transitional period since the signing of the revitalized peace agreement in 2018, raising concerns about the country’s commitment to lasting peace and democratic governance.

A senior government official, speaking anonymously to Sudans Post, revealed that a high-level committee concluded the revitalized peace agreement remains largely unimplemented.

“The parties have realized that the peace agreement has largely not been implemented and there is a need, as proposed by some parties, that the period for implementation is extended so that the parts which were not implemented are addressed,” the official said.

The committee, composed primarily of representatives from the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Government (SPLM-IG) and the main opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), debated the length of the extension.

According to the official, the SPLM-IG proposed 18 months, while the SPLM-IO pushed for 24 months. Ultimately, they settled on the latter, a decision that is expected to be formally announced by President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar anytime starting next week.

The revitalized peace agreement, signed in 2018, aimed to end the five-year civil war that ravaged South Sudan. It established a transitional government tasked with unifying rival forces, drafting a permanent constitution, and addressing transitional justice issues.

However, progress has been slow, prompting frustration and raising questions about the commitment of the leadership to lasting peace.

This latest extension comes despite previous efforts to expedite the peace process. The initial eight-month pre-transitional period was extended twice before a 36-month transitional government was finally formed in February 2020.

In 2022, another two-year extension was granted, pushing elections to December 2024. However, it appears even this revised timeline proved too ambitious.

Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), criticized the exclusion of civil society in the extension process.

“This newly extended 24 months for the transitional period from July 2024 is absolutely exclusive due to the failure to commission an inter-party and stakeholder dialogue for endorsing the extension of the transitional period,” Yakani said.

Security arrangements, unification of rival forces, drafting a permanent constitution, and addressing transitional justice remain key unfulfilled benchmarks outlined in the peace agreement. These critical issues continue to cast a shadow over the country’s stability and democratic future.

The committee’s report, expected to be submitted to Kiir and Machar, details the implementation status of the agreement and recommendations for moving forward. However, specifics on what has and hasn’t been implemented haven’t been made public, leaving questions unanswered and fueling anxieties about accountability and transparency.