Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, who is leading a South African government delegation to Juba, South Sudan, forming part of the C5 ad hoc High-Level Committee of the African Union, has expressed optimism about the country's steps towards holding of elections.
Last year, South Sudan once again postponed its scheduled elections which were planned for December 2024. The latest election postponement is the fourth in the past decade. With the recent postponement, the elections date was pushed by another 24 months, to December 2026.
The postponement of elections extended the term of the current transitional government, headed by President Salva Kiir.
Lamola and the South African delegation are part of the C5 ad hoc High-Level Committee of the African Union which is chaired by South Africa and also comprises of the Republics of Algeria, Chad, Nigeria and Rwanda.
The C5 has been following developments related to the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), since its signing on 12 September 2018.
Lamola is joined by his colleagues including Olivier Nduhungirehe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Rwanda, Selma Mansouri, Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria, Permanent Representative of Chad to the African Union, Ambassador Ali Hassan; Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the African Union, Nasir Aminu, as well as Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, the African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security.
“My address is in the context of the long-standing C5 ministerial visit to South Sudan, which we have been eagerly awaiting to undertake. The purpose of our visit has been to obtain first-hand knowledge on the status of the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement and assess the support that is required,” said Lamola.
“In addition, we also delivered a message of solidarity and support to the people and government of South Sudan and reaffirmed the continued commitment of the AU to accompany the transition process in the country.”
Lamola said his delegation has had productive meetings with First Vice President of South Sudan, Riek Machar; a meeting with African ambassadors based in Juba; representatives from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa, the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JRMEC) and United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
“During these meetings views were provided with concrete proposals on how we can assist the transition period to address some of the challenges in the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement for the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan,” said Lamola.
“We just had an opportunity to meet His Excellency, President Salva Kiir Mayaradit and engaged on some of the key issues pertaining to the Revitalised Agreement.
“We will brief our presidents about our visit here in Juba and present concrete proposals aimed at supporting the transition that will pave the way towards free, fair and democratic elections in this beautiful country so that there is a democratic and peaceful end to the transitional period,” he said.
There are plans to have a C5 meeting at heads of State level on the margins of the African Union Summit next month in Addis Ababa.
“As the C5, we commend the current peace and stability in South Sudan, and, we need to protect the gains that the country has attained thus far. We must sustain momentum in order to achieve our continental objective of silencing the guns,” said Lamola.
“Despite the challenges, we are encouraged by the commitment of the government (of South Sudan) to sustain momentum towards elections and resolving differences. We believe this demonstrates political will and engender trust and confidence in the country.”
Lamola said it is the ad-hoc committee’s “sincere” commitment that during this critical period, the African Union should scale up its support and be more visible and engaged with the people and government of South Sudan.
“We hope to be back in Juba in the near future in order to record more progress and receive updates on the implementation of outstanding issues; to enable elections to take place by December 2026 and to timely address any challenges and obstacles,” said Lamola.
“We would like to thank the government of South Sudan for the hospitality afforded to us during our visit. We look forward to working together towards durable peace in South Sudan.”
IOL reported in 2014 that South Sudan had indicated that it was postponing the scheduled 2015 presidential election to give warring factions time to reconcile, amid a conflict that was threatening to tear apart the world's newest nation.
The 2015 peace agreement ending the country’s first civil war included a commitment to conduct elections 60 days before the end of the 30-month transitional period. This agreement was prematurely ended by the eruption of the second civil war in 2016.