South Sudan president signs election law changes before December vote

South Sudan President Salva Kiir late on Monday signed changes to the country's election law, dropping requirements that elections be tied to completion of a permanent constitution and a national census. The opposition coalition rejected the amendments. The changes are aimed at clearing the way for general elections set for December 22, which would be South Sudan's first since independence in 2011. The South Sudan Opposition Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties and a signatory to the 2018 peace agreement, said the amendments were adopted without enough consultation among parties to the agreement.

Riek Machar, Kiir's longtime rival and leader of the main opposition SPLM-IO, has been under house arrest since March 2025 and is on trial on charges including treason and murder, which he denies. Last week, the president replaced the head of the elections commission without giving any reason. Kiir's office said the amendments to the National Elections Act of 2012 were another major milestone in preparations for the vote. Presidential affairs minister Africano Mande Gedima said the amendments were intended to align.

The amended election law aligns with the transitional constitution and removes provisions that had tied the election to completion of a permanent constitution and a national census. Under the revised law, the incumbent executive leadership stays in office with full constitutional powers through the election period until a newly elected president takes office, while the legislation also says the first vice president and other vice presidents must leave office within three months before election day. The law cuts the National Legislative Assembly to 270 members from 650.

State assemblies will have 58 members, down from 100, and legislative councils in administrative areas will have 20 members. Parliament passed the bill earlier on Monday before it was sent to Kiir for assent, as South Sudan enters a critical phase of election preparations, although voter registration has not begun. Edmund Yakani, executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation, urged leaders to settle their differences peacefully, saying: "Don't return us to war" and to sort out political differences through non-violent means.

South Sudan's transitional period was The election process was established under a 2018 peace agreement after years of conflict. Preparations for the vote have been repeatedly delayed because progress has been slow on key benchmarks, including drafting a permanent constitution and carrying out a census.