Juba, December 9, 2029 (SSNA) — South Sudan’s rival leaders, President Salva Kiir and the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) Dr. Riek Machar are scheduled to meet tomorrow in Juba to discuss the issues of the number of states and boundaries.
Kiir and Machar including other opposition leaders were initially set to meet today but the meeting has been unexpectedly moved to Tuesday.
The armed opposition leader is due to arrive in Juba tomorrow.
It is not clear if parties to the September 2018 peace agreement will compromise on the issue of the number of states.
Most SPLM/A-IO supporters believe that the self-appointed Jieng Council of Elders (JCE), a group dedicated itself to work for Jieng interests, is behind Kiir’s refusal to compromise on the issue of the number of states.
The two leaders failed to form a transitional government last month after the SPLM/A-IO and other opposition leaders refused to be part of it, citing the government’s failure to implement security arrangements.
The issue of the number of states and boundaries is one of the provisions in chapter two of the revitalized peace deal.
The government of South Sudan recently claimed that the best way to resolve states and boundary issues is through a referendum. However, many South Sudan’s observers believed that the referendum will not solve anything since most people in Upper Nile and Equatoria regions cannot vote because they are displaced by the conflict.
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Hi, the Kiir, Machar to discuss boundary issues as JCE objects to reduction of states
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