Dr. Lam Akol, leader of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), says the parties to the agreement need to open the door to a compromise on key pending tasks ahead of elections.

Dr. Lam, who returned to the capital Juba on Monday, is a signatory to the 2018 peace agreement under the umbrella of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA). He left the country in July 2020.

He has been a fierce critic of how the revitalized peace agreement is being implemented by the peace partners.

Implementation of the agreement has been slow, and the opposing forces have frequently disagreed over how to share power. In August 2022, the parties agreed to extend the transitional unity government's time in office for another two years, meaning elections would be held in December 2024.

Speaking to NDM cadres at the party headquarters in Juba on Thursday, Dr. Lam said the parties to the peace agreement should make compromises on critical pending tasks such as the final unification of armed forces, permanent constitution-making process, and reconstitution of the independent electoral body, among other things.

“There must be room for dialogue and compromises because we have made so many compromises during the peace agreement. During the implementation of the peace agreement, a number of compromises were made which were not part of the agreement. Why not the last lap, which is the lap of elections?” he asked.

He added, “If new things came up, the parties should be able to have a dialogue among themselves in order to resolve them. It should not be a dichotomy, the dichotomy of either we have elections in 2024, or if the prerequisites are not met, then we have no elections.”

According to the opposition politician, one of the important things the parties should work on is the creation of a conducive environment for political parties to conduct campaigns and meet people at the grassroots level without intimidation or restrictions.

“As NDM, we say, we have a role to play. First of all, let us make sure that the election is coming. If you talk to anybody on the street now, they are very sceptical. When people say there will be elections in 2024, they say it is not true because this and that is not done,” he said.

Dr. Lam Akol declared that his NDM party supports the conduct of general elections in December 2024, underscoring that civic space should be created for everyone, including independent media outlets.

On the question of the NDM party’s flagbearer, Dr. Akol said they are yet to hold a party convention in which the flagbearer will be selected and endorsed.

“Our first responsibility now is to create a conducive atmosphere for the elections to take place. So once that is done, we now go to the States, meet the people, and have a convention. NDM is a democratic party, we will have a convention,” he concluded.