Kiir, Machar expected to discuss elections in Kampala
President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Dr Riek Machar Teny are expected to travel to Kampala, Uganda, to discuss challenges facing the security arrangements and the prospects for elections slated for 2023.
The Director for Information and Public Relations, who also serves as the acting press secretary in the office of the First Vice President, Puok Both Baluang, said the discussions were supposed to have taken place in the second week of January.
He said the talks did not take place due to some circumstances.
Baluang added that they were waiting for the date to be communicated so that the discussions would take place in the presence of IGAD, the Troika and the government of Uganda.
“The discussion [was] supposed to take place in the second week of this month but due to some reasons from the country, it has been impossible. But we are still going to see if the two leaders will go or not,” Baluang said.
When contacted, Minister for Information and the Government Spokesperson, Michael Makuei Lueth, said he had not received any communication about the meeting yet and declined to comment on the expected meeting in Kampala.
“I have not received communication about that meeting, so I am not aware of it,” he told The City Review yesterday in an exclusive interview.
However, several news sources disclosed that the meeting is expected to take place next month.
Call for elections
On several occasions, President Kiir had called on the parties to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) to prepare for elections in 2023.
However, the First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar, objected, stating that security arrangements must be completed before elections can be held.
He argued that the unified forces would be strategic in the provision of security during elections and should not be taken lightly.
The Vice President for Gender and Youth Cluster, Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior, said elections could not be conducted unless refugees residing in the neighbouring countries return to take part in the elections.
No regime change
Nearly two weeks ago, Presidential Press Secretary, Ateny Wek Ateny, called for caution, especially for those calling on President Kiir to step down. Ateny argued that there would be chaos when Kiir steps down without “free, fair, and transparent elections.”
“If President Salva Kiir steps aside, it will invite more chaos than solve the problem. So the people of South Sudan, they are aware that President Salva Kiir cannot step aside now. It is the people of South Sudan that will let him step aside by not voting for him,” said Ateny.
This was in response to the statement of United States Senator Patrick Leahy, who accused the president and the first vice president of having failed in their leadership.
“Two individuals, President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar are primarily to blame for fuelling tensions and mobilising support along ethnic lines, and for failing in their responsibility to invest in public infrastructure, basic services, and the institutions of a multi-party democracy,” Leahy stated.
“Whereas the leaders of South Sudan have consistently failed to uphold their responsibilities to create the conditions for peace and prosperity, [they] have prioritised self-preservation and corruption over the needs of the people they represent, have acted in bad faith in the implementation of ceasefire and peace agreements, and have betrayed the cause of freedom, resulting in the loss of millions of lives.”
Ateny marked the statement as “utter ignorance” without concrete evidence of the situation in South Sudan.
“The senator’s statement has an element of ignorance in it because anyone who is not living in the situation of the Republic of South Sudan would think the problem of South Sudan will end with President Kiir and Dr Machar stepping aside. This is absolute ignorance, ” Ateny said.
