South Sudan extends transitional period till 2026, elections postponed

September 14, 2024 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s parties to the 2018 peace agreement have extended the current transitional period by another two years.

The decision was reached during a meeting President Salva Kiir held with his deputies, cabinets members and advisors in the capital, Juba on Friday.

The extension implies the country’s first post-independence election initially scheduled for December 22, 2024 will not take place.

The Cabinet Affairs minister, Martin Elia Lomuro said the transition period extension is an opportunity to implement the remaining key provisions in the peace agreement.

“The extension is in response to the recommendations from the electoral institutions and the security sector. It is an opportunity to implement the pending issues in the peace deal’” he said.

Lomuro, however, said that the government will remain functional throughout the extended period.

“The government will not be dissolved and will continue to function as usual while the institutions work to finalise their provisions”, he elaborated.

According to the minister, the presidency is optimistic enough funds will be mobilized during the next phase of the transitional period for the effective implementation of the peace agreement.

In August 2022, peace parties signed a two-year extension of the transitional government, citing the need to implement critical tasks in the September 2018 peace agreement.

The move to extend the transitional period has drawn mixed reactions from citizens, with many questioning intentions of the country’s leaders.

(ST)