The leader of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, has called on parties to the 2018 peace deal to discuss the conduct of the December 2024 elections.
Speaking to journalists in Juba on Tuesday after meeting with Jemma Nunu Kumba, Speaker of the Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly (RTNLA), Dr Akol called on parties’ leaders to engage in constructive dialogue for the success of the polls.
“We as NDM have taken it upon ourselves to seek consensus among our partners, the same way people sat in 2022; that is what is required now. We must sit as parties to the peace agreement and decide on how to conduct the elections and in this, we have a clear outlook on what should be done and how it would be done,” he said.
The senior opposition leader emphasized that political parties should come out with a clear roadmap for the elections.
“As we all know, the current structures of the government are a result of the peace agreement that was signed in September 2018, and that peace agreement is time-bound. It has implementation timelines on all the items that need to be done, and all the items are interrelated. They are supposed to lead to the objective of the peace agreement itself, which is to have sustainable peace in the agreement and to usher in a democratic era at the end of it,” said Akol.
For his part, John Agany Deng, Chairperson of Parliament’s Information Committee, said the meeting discussed the need to ensure the elections are held on schedule.
“Lam’s position as one of the leaders of the peace agreement is that the country should possibly go for elections if people have political will, especially the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU), so in fact, we are blessed to have him,” said Agany.
South Sudan is expected hold its elections in December this year.
The opposition has repeatedly accused the Kiir administration of lacking the political will to implement key provisions of the 2018 peace agreement, including security arrangements and the permanent constitution-making process.