President Salva Kiir during one on one meeting with FVP Dr. Riek Machar in his office on Monday - CREDIT: Office of the President - April 4, 2022

Parties to the unity government say the two-year extension of transitional period is only to give time for implementation of the pending chapters in the agreement.

During Thursday’s discussion on peace implementation roadmap, the parties resolved to stay in power for the next 24 months, until December 2024, where elections are expected to usher in a new government.

President Salva Kiir signed on behalf of the ruling party – SPLM-IG, Dr. Machar signed on behalf of SPLM-IO and Gabriel Changson Chang signed for the opposition coalition – SSOA.

On the other hand, Deng Alor Kuol signed for the Former Detainees, while Peter Mayen and Wilson Lodiong signed for the Other Political Parties.

In his conclusion remarks, President Salva Kiir said the parties have extended the transitional period to avoid a chaotic election.

“We are not extending the transition because I want to stay in the government longer. We don’t want to rush you into an election that will take us back to war,” said the president.

“Today, I am informing the people of South Sudan that the parties who signed the revitalized agreement to resolve the conflict have unanimously agreed to a 24-month extension of the interim period,” he announced

The decision to extend the timeline of the transitional period was however protested by the Troika countries, who expressed concerns over exclusive process.

Diplomats from the US, UK, and Norway boycotted the peace implementation roadmap meeting at the Freedom Hall, saying all relevant parties have not been consulted on the matter.

In a joint statement addressed to President Salva Kiir, the foreign missions urged for the inclusion of all signatories to the agreement.

“We are writing to you personally to express our profound concern that fully inclusive consultations must take place with civil society, faith-based groups, business, women’s groups, youth representatives, eminent persons, and international partners before the R-ARCSS is amended.”

For his part, First Vice President Riek Machar said the extension was necessary because over 70 per cent of the tasks in the agreement remain unimplemented.

“We are all cognizant that in the next four months, you cannot implement what is in this agreement. You have 72.7 percent of the agreement unimplemented. You have no choice.”

“But our concern was, if we extend, how will we sell it to the South Sudanese, because some people think extension is just for the sake of being in power. What choice do we have if we don’t extend?”

Meanwhile, the Minister for East African Affairs, Deng Alor Kuol appealed to political leaders to unite the country.

“Unity was what brought us to where we are today. We need the same unity. So I want to appeal to those who fought this war and negotiated the peace agreement. Mr. President, and other leaders, I want us to unite and this is a unity of purpose,” he said.