Logo of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). |Courtesy.

Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu has welcomed what he describes as the consensual manner in which the unity government reached to extend the transitional period.

In a statement issued yesterday, Gebeyehu urged the Parties to embrace and cultivate this spirit of dialogue, consultation and consensus building in all matters of governance particularly in passing decisions and resolving differences.

His written remarks come three days after the national legislature endorsed the resolutions of the parties, council of ministers and the presidency, extending the Transitional Period by twenty-four months from February 2025 to February 2027, and the elections from December 2024 to December 2026.

Mr. Gebeyehu now calls upon the unity government “to spare no efforts and to allocate adequate funding to complete the outstanding tasks within the extended period to enable the timely holding of elections.

Being the fourth extension since 2018, the IGAD official said “it is incumbent upon the parties that they implement the pending tasks with a sense of urgency.

He went on to state that IGAD expects the parties to come up with concrete plan of action for implementation with feasible funding strategy.

Mr. Gebeyehu assured that “IGAD, as the guarantor of the R-ARCSS, will continue to closely monitor the implementation of the R-ARCSS, and support the democratic aspirations of the peace partners and the people of the Republic of South Sudan.”