South Sudan’s opposition alliance (SSOA), a group of nine entities opposing the government, rejected a proposed bill to extend President Salva Kiir’s term for three years.
The group, in a statement dated July 4, said President Kiir should admit that he was never elected by the people of South Sudan as their leader but rather assumed power for interim basis.
“We condemn this move in the strongest terms possible”, reads the statement that carries the name of Kwaje Lasu, spokesman of the group.
The opposition group pointed out that President Kiir was only interested in staying in power rather than lifting the suffering of the people.
The alliance called on the masses to reject the move by the government to extend its mandate. “We must unite all our efforts to bring pressure to bear on the regime so that they stop this diversionary move and concentrate minds on the peace process underway. Legitimacy can only come from the people not from an institution which lacks authority to grant legitimacy,” reads the statement.
The opposition group was reacting to a bill that seeks to amend the constitution to extend Kiir’s tenure to 2021. The bill was presented on Monday to parliament for MPs to vote it into law this month.