ADDIS ABABA
A partial agreement was signed in Addis Ababa on Monday between South Sudanese stakeholders with the government deferring its signature on the agreement for a fortnight.
Rebel leader Riek Machar and top ruling party official Pagan Amum have signed the deal that tackled most of the key issues of governance, power and wealth sharing.
The South Sudanese president Salva Kiir observed the signing but did not put down his signature, which he deferred for a fortnight, reportedly to look into certain issues the agreement reached during 10-day negotiations under the revitalized mediation format called the IGAD-PLUS.
IGAD-plus encompasses member countries of the eastern African trading bloc, five non-IGAD African countries, the African Union, the United Nations, the Troika (U.S., UK and Norway), China and the International Partners Forum (IPF).
After the signing, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who is the chairman of the IGAD assembly of heads of state and government, described the agreement as “important and [a] step forward” in putting an end to the political deadlock the country has experienced in the past 20 months.
Power sharing, proposed federal arrangement and control of state legislature in the three oil rich states of Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile (the three combined form the greater Upper Nile Region of South Sudan) have remained the most contentious issues of the compromise agreement.
Another contentious issue has been a clause in the document that calls for the demilitarization of capital Juba for the two-and-a-half years during which a transitional government of national unity is expected to govern.
South Sudan gained independence from neighboring Sudan four years ago.
A civil war erupted in December 2013 when the president Kiir accused Riek Machar of planning a coup.
