The National Council of Ministers on Saturday endorsed the extension by the parties to the agreement on the resolution of the conflict in South Sudan of the current government’s tenure by 24 months.
The move comes barely 24 hours after the parties agreed to delay the long-awaited first ever General Election in South Sudan since independence in 2011.
Addressing reporters after the extraordinary meeting, chaired by President Salva Kiir at the Cabinet Ministry in Juba, Deputy Information, Communication and Postal Service Minister Dr Jacob Maiju Korok said they listened to a memo from his Cabinet Affairs counterpart Dr Martin Elia Lomuro, on the endorsement of the decision of the agreement on the resolution of the conflict in South Sudan for the delay of the election and extension of the transitional period.
The Presidency and political parties agreed on the postponement of election set for December 22, to December 22, 2026, allowing the remaining five months of the extended transitional period of the Revitalized Peace Agreement and Roadmap, which ends on February 22, 2025, for the mobilization of funds, Korok said.
The signatories to the agreement believe it is extremely important to maintain peace, security and relative political stability ushered by the Revitalized Peace Agreement. The parties therefore recommit activities maintained the improved trust gained by the parties during the intervening period and they aim to achieve permanent peace, security, and political stability, by ensuring that elections are conducted in a secure environment, and will establish electoral systems that will deliver free, fair, credible and democratic election to avoid a return to war, he explained.
Korok said they did not want to rush into an election without implementing the critical tasks.
“There were some articles in the Revitalized Peace Agreement that were not implemented and we do not want to rush into an election without implementing all the articles,” he added.