AFRICA
South Sudanese MPs vote to extend president Salva Kiir’s term
Juba — South Sudan’s parliament voted on Thursday to extend President Salva Kiir’s term in office until 2021, a move likely to undermine peace talks as opposition groups have said the change would be illegal. "Now the speaker hereby declares that the transitional constitution amendment ... is hereby passed by [the] national legislature," Anthony Lino Makana, speaker of parliament, told the members. MP Paul Youani Bonju, chairman of parliament’s information committee, said the extension, which will also apply to vice-presidents, state legislatures and governors, would bolster the government negotiating team in peace talks with rebel groups in Khartoum, Sudan. South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation after gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, erupted into violence in 2013 over a political disagreement between Kiir and former vice-president Riek Machar. Machar’s rebel group reiterated its opposition to extending officials’ terms. "We regret the move as it shows the regime is playin...
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