July 8, 2024 (JUBA)-  South Sudan’s First Vice President and leader of armed opposition faction (SPLM-IO), Riek Machar has rejected the December 22, 2024 date proposed by the National Elections Commission (NEC), citing ongoing inter-parties dialogue and the Kenyan-led peace initiative with the hold-out groups. In a statement on Monday, based his disagreement on what he described as a decision reached by the political bureau of the country’s main opposition group. The SPLM-IO, Machar said, questioned the approval of the security bill without consulting the presidency and the council of ministers to have sections of the security bill which do comply with provisions of the 2018 peace deal revoked. Last week, NEC announced December 22, 2024 as the elections date, while South Sudanese lawmakers passed on July 3, 2024 a controversial security bill authorizing the country’s national security agency to search and arrest without a warrant. Separately, the political parties’ council announced that all political parties intending to take part in the upcoming elections to have registered by June 30. In response to these unilateral decisions, the political bureau of the SPLM-IO said these actions violate different provisions of peace accord and all ongoing efforts. Machar stressed that the implementation …

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