South Sudan President Signs Controversial Amendments for December Elections

South Sudan is expected to hold an election on 22 December 2026, the first in the country’s history, having already been postponed twice, in 2022 and 2024. South Sudan’s transitional parliament approved controversial amendments to the country’s 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, removing key pre-election requirements in an effort to keep long-delayed general elections on schedule for December, prompting criticism from opposition groups and Western diplomats. The Transitional National Legislative Assembly voted to amend the peace accord by deferring two major milestones — a national population census and the completion of a permanent constitution — to the next elected government, eliminating legal hurdles that many officials said could have delayed the country’s first post-independence elections. The legislative action, which culminated in presidential assent announced by the Office of the President on Wednesday, formally brings the amendment into force and provides the legal framework for the country’s planned national elections in December 2026. The government says the amendment will allow electoral preparations to proceed under the Transitional Constitution and existing electoral laws while other transitional processes continue, arguing that separating these processes clears the way for elections to be held within the agreed timeline.

Supporters of the changes argue that waiting for these exhaustive milestones would only trigger another indefinite postponement in a country that has operated under a transitional constitution since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011. Yet the unilateral nature of the vote has alienated key opposition factions, drawn sharp rebukes from international partners, and ignited fierce debates over the democratic legitimacy of the upcoming contest. South Sudan has taken a decisive step towards holding its first national elections since independence by amending the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), but these changes have also sparked controversy over their legality, their implications for the country’s fragile peace framework, and the legitimacy of the electoral process.

President Salva Kiir Confirms Re-Election Bid Amid Stalled Peace Deal

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has confirmed that he will seek another term in the country’s long-awaited elections, insisting that the vote will proceed despite mounting concerns over the implementation of the 2018 peace agreement and preparations for the polls. Speaking to Citizen TV on Wednesday, Kiir urged South Sudanese to register in large numbers and bring the country’s transitional government to an end through the ballot box. I will be on the ballot, Kiir said, confirming he will contest the presidency on the ticket of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). The president, who has led South Sudan since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011, stated that his government is doing everything necessary to ensure the historic vote proceeds despite deep fractures in the unity government.

The objective of the peace deal signed in Juba in August 2015 was to restore peace and stability following a bloody conflict that broke out in late 2013, two years after South Sudan obtained independence from the Republic of Sudan, initially pitting former Vice President Riek Machar against President Salva Kiir, who accused Machar of plotting a coup against him. The violence took on an ethnic dimension with Machar’s Nuer fighting against Kiir’s Dinka, and other ethnic groups have since been drawn in, spurred by local grievances. In September 2018, South Sudanese actors signed a new peace agreement to ‘revitalise’ the 2015 deal which had collapsed, resulting from months of negotiations led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that secured the buy-in of most of the parties to the conflict. South Sudan has made noticeable progress since the signing of a new peace agreement in February 2019, including the return of the majority of exiled opposition leaders, though several critical issues remain unresolved.

SPLM-IO Accuses the Ruling Party of Laying Groundwork for Sham Elections

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by suspended first vice president Dr. Riek Machar Teny on Thursday accused President Salva Kiir Mayardit and the ruling SPLM of laying the groundwork to rig South Sudan’s scheduled December 2026 general elections. This came after President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Wednesday signed into law amendments to the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, removing legal provisions that tied national elections to the completion of the permanent constitution-making process and a national population census.

Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, former First Deputy Speaker of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly and SPLM-IO Deputy Chairman, asserted that by assenting to the changes, Kiir had bypassed the consensus required under the peace accord. The opposition warned that holding polls without completing necessary transitional milestones risks returning the world’s youngest nation to widespread conflict.

International Donors and Monitors Warn Against Unilateral Peace Deal Alterations

The amendments also drew coordinated pushback from the international community. Norway’s ambassador to South Sudan, Roar Haugsdal, said on Thursday that unilateral attempts to amend the country’s 2018 peace agreement were contrary to both the letter and spirit of the accord that underpins the transitional government. Speaking to reporters after meeting Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) Speaker Joseph Ngere Baciko in Juba, Ambassador Haugsdal said the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) remained the basis of legitimacy for the transitional government. Unilateral changes to the agreement are not in accordance with the letter and spirit of the agreement and will not bring peace in South Sudan, Haugsdal said.

South Sudan’s worsening humanitarian crisis is being linked to ongoing political wrangles and violent clashes rooted in whether to amend the 2018 peace agreement. This week, major donors including the US, the European Union, the UK and Switzerland said the 2018 peace deal, mediated by the regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), remains the most viable framework for protecting Juba’s stability. The peace agreement remains the basis of legitimacy for transitional government in South Sudan, the donors said on Thursday. Unilateral changes to the agreement are not in accordance with the letter and spirit of the agreement and will not bring peace to South Sudan. We call for an immediate cessation of unilateral actions that threaten the peace process.