Yiep Joseph
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ramadan Goc, appealed to the Kingdom of the Netherlands to support South Sudan’s election preparation.
Goc made the call during a bilateral meeting with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to South Sudan, Marjan Schippers.
According to the statement obtained from the official page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Goc argued that the government was working harder to ensure that the country conducts peaceful elections.
He appealed to the Kingdom of the Netherlands to support the electoral process in South Sudan so that the country can enter the democratic phase.
“Furthermore, he (Ramadan Mohammed Abdallah Goc) urged the Dutch government to assist the country in the electoral process,” the statement was partly read.
Goc stressed the government’s commitment to work with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
In an effort to achieve longer-lasting peace and a smoother election exercise, the government called on the holdout groups to come home and take part in the voting.
“Goc said that the government is working hard to ensure all holdout groups participate in the upcoming general election,” the statement read.
Goc also urged the Kingdom of the Netherlands to support the agricultural sector and capacity building of local farmers in the country.
Last week, President Salva Kiir warned that the insistence on another extension of the transitional period by Western countries and some parties to the peace agreement could lead to “violence.”
Addressing his supporters at a rally organised in Juba by the SPLM in the Greater Equatoria region for his endorsement as the party’s flagbearer for the 2024 elections, the president said the ruling was committed to holding elections in December 2024 to allow the people of South Sudan to choose their leaders.
But he also claimed that some Western countries and some parties to the 2018 peace agreement are pushing for another extension of the transitional government.
“There are people in Europe and America who have come up saying that the SPLM position to hold elections as scheduled must be blocked, arguing that if elections are held, South Sudan will return to war. I must assure you that nobody will fight. Instead, it is the postponement of elections that will cause war,” Kiir said.
“What the Westerners and those who are outside our region are saying is that there will be war in South Sudan because of elections. Please don’t listen to such rumours. This is, of course, what they want to happen, so I am urging you all to be patient and calm,” he added.
Kiir stated that he has called for an inter-party dialogue to find an amicable solution on the way forward concerning general elections in December this year.
“While this process is ongoing, I urge the SPLM secretariat and the entire membership of the SPLM to prepare and get ready for elections in December 2024,” he emphasised.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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