Addis Ababa, January 29, 2015 (SSNA) — The IGAD-mediated talks between South Sudan’s Kiir and Machar have collapsed in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Power sharing arrangement is the main cause of the failure, an African Union diplomatic source with full knowledge of the talks told the South Sudan news Agency.
In the meeting, the two warring sides were told to report back to IGAD by the 1st of February 2015. The regional block, IGAD, also warned the two factions to produce a solution by the first day of February or face action from IGAD member states.
The peace proposal presented to Kiir and Machar by IGAD heads of states includes structure of the leadership of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGONU), succession during the transition period, power sharing, South Sudan national parliament, among others.
In the document, Kiir must remain as the president with two Vice Presidents…and the 2nd VP must come from the Greater Equatoria region. The proposal also states that the President and VP must be succeeded by people from their political parties.
On the power sharing, the document further stated that the government will retain 60%, SPLM-IO 30%, and 10% for former political detainees and other political parties.
However, the roles of the President and VP are yet to be worked out. The SSNA was told that decision making process within the TGONU must be 80% consensus.
IGAD also said all current members of South Sudan’s national parliament must remain in their positions; however, it proposed to add 68 new members who will be selected from all sides and added to the parliament.