JUBA, South Sudan — National Civil Society Coalition leader Bol Deng Bol says the success of the Inter-Party Dialogue will depend on the participation of a wider range of political actors, including armed and unarmed groups inside and outside South Sudan.

The Inter-Party Dialogue is scheduled to begin on Thursday, September 17, bringing political parties and other stakeholders together to discuss the country’s electoral pathway and transitional political settlement.

In a statement shared with Eye Radio Newsroom, Bol Deng said the dialogue could help address political and legal issues surrounding the elections, but may not fully address insecurity affecting communities across the country.

“Even as we appreciate the inter-party dialogue, we believe that it has its shortcomings as well. It is likely, you know, to resolve the consensus among the parties to the agreement on various sticky issues including political and legal matters surrounding in particular the conduct of general elections as slated. However, it is not likely to address the rampant insecurity threat facing South Sudanese across the country, especially at the state level, at the county, Payam and Boma levels.”

Bol Deng said he believes a broader process is needed to address issues beyond those involving parties to the peace agreement.

“What will resolve these particular issues in the state is an inclusive national consensus dialogue, one that will not be restricted to the parties to the all-access, but will include other armed and unarmed political groups in and outside the country, women representatives, youth faith-based groups, civil society, the media, students, academia, the regional and international community,” he said.

He said the broader participation would give the dialogue a wider basis for addressing the country’s political, social, economic and security challenges.

Bol Deng also described the Inter-Party Dialogue as a step toward resolving issues affecting the country, while maintaining that it would not, in his view, adequately address all of them.

“And this inter-party dialogue, we believe that it is a good attempt towards resolving all of these issues that are affecting the country, including around the all-access implementation. But we believe that it will not adequately resolve these particular issues,” he said.

The Inter-Party Dialogue is expected to focus on political and legal issues related to the electoral process and South Sudan’s transitional political settlement.