Highlight
The new peace deal to end the long South Sudan crisis could be angled towards failure as mediators try to strike a favorable balance mainly hung on power sharing.
South Sudan warring parties led by President Salva Kiir government and the armed opposition under leadership of former vice president Riek Machar are now competing for majority power slices in peace talks that are aimed at ending the civil crisis.
Power Sharing Percentages
South Sudanese rival warring parties on 6th August resumed peace talks in Addis Ababa. Both parties presented different power sharing percentages in which each side sought majority representation in the proposed transitional government of national unity.
Salva Kiir government proposed to be given 70% of power sharing in the proposed transitional government and proposed only 20% to be given to the rebels and 10% to other political parties.
On the other hand, the rebel representatives in the talks asked for 70% of power sharing in the government of national unity. They gave the government 20% and the remaining 10% to other political parties.
IGAD mediation drafted a compromise agreement that proposed that the government should have 53% of ministerial portfolios in a transitional government, the SPLM-IO (rebel forces) should have 33%, and former detainees, with other political parties share 14%.
Summary
The power sharing discussions come amid widening divisions within South Sudan armed opposition.
According to intelligence analysts, some rebel commanding officers opposing Machar’s leadership could be seeking to kill off any hope of reaching peaceful settlement to the conflict by forming their own faction to enhance the rebellion and to continue launching their own wave of violence against the implementation of a possible peace agreement.
However, if the most of rebels eventually agree to the terms of the agreement, it will be easier to stem any future rebellions within South Sudan.
