SPLM-IO has to be convinced why another extension is needed – Baluang

JUBA, JULY 12, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – South Sudan’s main opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) said on Tuesday that it needs to be convinced about the need for another extension of the transitional period.

This comes after a senior member of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit told Sudans Post on Monday that the party is engaged in internal discussions aimed at securing an extension for transitional period for three or four months.

The official said that the extension will help the parties implement few tasks that will be pending in December 2024, the time South Sudan is expected to conduct its first democratic elections since gaining independence in 2011.

But in interview with The City Review, Puok Both Baluang, the SPLM-IO’s director of information and public relations, said that the group is committed to peace implementation, but that it needs to be shown why another extension is necessary.

“If there is anyone who comes forward (SPLM-IO) about the postponement of the election, we believe he or she must convince us why we want to postpone a democratic process that gives our people the power to elect people that will lead them,” he said.

Baluang who is also the press secretary in the office of the first vice president also called on the parties to the peace agreement to redouble their efforts to implement the agreement so that highly anticipated elections are held on time.

“We call on parties to redouble their efforts to implement the genuine parts for the conduct of a peaceful election,” he said.

The transitional period is currently scheduled to end on February 22, 2025, but elections are due by December 2024.