South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Tuesday evening dissolved the Transitional Government of National Unity, the national legislature, and the governments and assemblies of the 10 states, ahead of the country's first general election since separating from Sudan in 2011. The vote is due to be held on 22 December, after being postponed twice from its original date in 2022.
Vice-presidents and ministers dismissed
The decision included the dismissal of First Vice-President Riek Machar and the four other vice-presidents, along with the ministers. The steps followed parliament's approval on Monday evening of amendments to the electoral law that reorganised the pre-election period and set out the status of state institutions during it.
The decree said Kiir would remain in office “during the election period until the next elected president takes office”, while the judiciary and security institutions would continue their work. The amendments also allow the existing executive leadership to retain all its constitutional powers until power is handed over to the elected president.
Powers of interim officials restricted
Kiir appointed ministers to run the government until an elected government is formed, and named interim governors for the 10 states. The presidential order bars interim officials from concluding long-term international agreements, borrowing large sums or disposing of public assets without the president's permission, while requiring them to remain politically neutral during the transitional period.
Electoral amendments raise legal concerns
The decisions were preceded by Kiir's dismissal on 15 September of the head of the National Elections Commission, without stating a reason. The changes as a whole raised concerns among lawyers and analysts about the scope of the president's powers and the status of the executive and legislative institutions in the period before the election.
Lawyer Michael Wani, a former member of the constitutional drafting committee, said: “Kiir will be the only person in power, without vice-presidents, without an executive authority and without a parliament.”
Independent analyst Machot Aroom pointed to what he called ambiguity in the new law, saying it “grants the president full powers” and that he could decide not to hold the election “for another year or two”. Policy analyst Abraham Aulech said carrying out the entire process “in one go and without a new political settlement” constituted a violation of the 2018 peace agreement.
He added that the planned election was “far from being a free and fair democratic election”, describing it as “a smokescreen to entrench dictatorship and one-man rule”, and called for an inclusive national dialogue mediated internationally. The opposition wing of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, led by Machar, rejected the scheduled election.
Opposition warns of a return to violence
Acting deputy leader of the movement Regina Joseph Kaba said any electoral process held “without consensus and the genuine participation of all parties that signed the agreement is categorically rejected”, warning that proceeding in this way was “a direct recipe for returning the country to violence”. Kaba called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of Machar and all political detainees.
Machar has been under house arrest since March 2025 and is also facing charges including treason and murder, which he denies. It remains unclear whether he will be allowed to contest the election, while Kiir is expected to be on the ballot. Presidential candidate and leader of the United Democratic National Front Cornelio Kon Ngu criticised the mechanism for appointing officials to run the government.
He said the parties had agreed that appointments would be made through consultation after the institutions were dissolved, stressing that this had not happened when the new decisions were issued. On rights, Amnesty International described the decision as a decisive step towards elections, but stressed that holding the vote alone would not give it legitimacy.
Its regional director for east and southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, said: “The legitimacy of any election depends not only on holding it, but on people's ability to exercise their rights freely, safely and equally.” The organisation called for an end to the intimidation of journalists, activists and opponents.
Preparations for the election are taking place even though voter registration has not begun, rival armies have not been unified and the permanent constitution has not been completed — key commitments guaranteed by the 2018 peace agreement. The agreement ended a five-year civil war that killed about 400,000 people, according to UN estimates. The dissolution of the institutions coincided with tightened security measures in the capital, Juba, where checkpoints were set up and roads around the government complex were closed.
The Internal Security Bureau ordered “all forces to wear uniform and remain on maximum alert for 3 days”, starting on 22 September.
