Catholic Bishop in South Sudan Hopeful Extension of Mandate of Transitional Government Will Prepare Country for Election

Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of the country’s Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio (CDTY) . Credit: CDTY

The country’s Presidential Adviser on National Security, Hon. Tut Gatluak further described the extension as an opportunity to implement the critical remaining protocols in R-ARCSS, such as the permanent constitution process, census, and the registration of political parties.

South Sudan’s transitional government was formed in February 2020 in line with R-ARCSS.

The world’s newest country that gained independence from Sudan in July 2011 and plunged into civil war in December 2013 had scheduled general elections before February 2023.

An agreement between the RTGoNU and the opposition was to postpone the elections to late 2024. Another postponement was reported, “owing to the continual delays in implementing crucial aspects of the 2018 peace agreement.”

Church leaders in South Sudan have criticized the third postponement, decrying the lack of will by politicians in the country to remove the obstacles that are impeding general elections in the East-Central African nation, Church leaders in the country have said.

Meanwhile, Bishop Hiiboro has urged South Sudanese citizens to embrace love for their country as a pathway to peace, saying, “To get this country peaceful, it will go within our hearts. We must fall in love with our country and dedicate ourselves to its future.”

“We have to go back to conversation,” Bishop Hiiboro said in his September 22 homily, and added, “The results we seek will only come when we genuinely invest in our country and each other.”

“It is time for us to be converted, to repent, and to work towards a common goal of peace,” the South Sudanese Catholic Bishop, who serves as the President of the Integral Human Development Commission of the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SCBC) said. 

Sabrine Amboka contributed to the writing of this story.

Source: https://www.aciafrica.org/news/12235/catholic-bishop-in-south-sudan-hopeful-extension-of-mandate-of-transitional-government-will-prepare-country-for-election

ACI Africa was founded in 2019. We provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, giving particular emphasis to the words of the Holy Father and happenings of the Holy See, to any person with access to the internet. ACI Africa is proud to offer free access to its news items to Catholic dioceses, parishes, and websites, in order to increase awareness of the activities of the universal Church and to foster a sense of Catholic thought and culture in the life of every Catholic.