South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Benjamin Takpiny
The Presidency along with the leaders of major political parties on Tuesday resolved to seek technical advice from the electoral institutions on the feasibility of conducting the upcoming elections.
The meeting chaired by President Kiir made the decision following a presentation from the Peace High-level Committee detailing the current status of the peace agreement’s implementation, said a statement on the Presidential Facebook page.
The Minister of Cabinet Affairs Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro during a media briefing stated that the move is aimed at providing a realistic timetable for political leaders to agree on elections.
Lomuro emphasized that the Nairobi Tumaini initiative must be aligned with the R-ARCSS framework, asserting that any provisions not in accordance with the peace agreement will be removed.
He said this step reflects a joint commitment from parties to ensuring that the electoral process is both feasible and consistent with the terms of the peace accord.
“The high level standing committee should summon the election commission, the constitution review committee and political parties’ council and to challenge them with what they technically referred to as challenges and provide a realistic timetable for us to agree when there should be elections,” Lomuro said.
The National Election Commission headed by Prof. Abednego Akok Kachuol had set December 22nd as the date for the general election.
However, delays in completing the implementation critical tasks such as the full graduation of unified forces, enactment of the permanent constitution and other key electoral institutions had cast doubt on the probability of holding free, fair and credible elections this year.
