KHARTOUM, July 25 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's conflicting parties on Wednesday signed an agreement on power-sharing and governance in Sudan's capital Khartoum.
The agreement, read out by Sudanese Foreign Minister Al-Dirdiri Mohamed Ahmed, said Salva Kiir will continue to serve as President of Sudan during the transitional period, while the opposition leader Riek Machar will assume the position of First Vice President.
There will be four vice presidents from different political parties as stated in the agreement.
It also stipulated that the transitional cabinet would be composed of 35 ministers from both the government and the opposition, including 20 ministers from the government, and nine from the Machar-led Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO).
The deal further stipulated a transitional national legislative body composed of 550 members, with 332 from the government, and 128 from the SPLM-IO.
Concerning the boundaries and the number of states of South Sudan, it is agreed that an Independent Boundaries Commission will be established to address the issue.
According to the agreement, the commission will work for three months in an attempt to resolve the issue, and if it fails, a referendum will be held before the end of the third month.
Still, Ahmed said the parties disagree on the power-sharing at the level of local governments, but they are determined to solve the issue before the final signing of the document on Aug. 5.
On June 27, the South Sudanese conflicting parties signed a comprehensive cease-fire deal in Khartoum.
South Sudan has been witnessing a civil war since December 2013, which has left about 10,000 dead and millions of others displaced.
