South Sudan’s National Legislature has passed the National Elections Act, 2012 (Amendment) Bill, 2026, after a tense debate over the size of government, unemployment, parliamentary representation and the country’s planned elections.
The legislation, presented by Dengtiel Ayuen Kuur, chairperson of the Committee on Legislation and Legal Affairs, introduces changes to the conduct of general elections, voter registration and the composition of national and state legislatures.
One of the key provisions provides that the incumbent president will remain in office throughout the election period with full constitutional powers until the elected president takes over.
Under the 2018 peace agreement, the presidency comprises President Salva Kiir, First Vice President and opposition leader Riek Machar and four other vice presidents. The presidency was formed in February 2020 as part of the implementation of the peace deal.
The amendment further provides that, within three months of the election date announced by the National Elections Commission, the incumbent president shall remove the first vice president and other vice presidents in accordance with Article 105(2) of the Transitional Constitution.
“The amended law also provides for changes to the administration of elections at state and administrative-area levels. The National Elections Commission will establish high committees and appoint their heads and members, with each committee comprising five members, including a state returning officer,” Kuur said.
The legislation also extends voting rights to South Sudanese nationals living outside the country who hold valid South Sudanese passports and meet the requirements for registration in the electoral register.
Under the amended law, the National Legislative Assembly will comprise 332 members. Of these, 50% will be elected to represent geographical constituencies, 35% through proportional representation from women’s closed party lists and 15% through proportional representation from closed party lists. The proposed 332-member structure is consistent with the bill presented to lawmakers earlier this month.
The Act also provides for 66 appointed members representing veterans, organized forces, minorities and persons with special needs.
The proposed changes come as South Sudan prepares for elections scheduled for Dec. 22, 2026, following repeated extensions of the country’s transitional period. The bill’s provision allowing the incumbent president to remain in office with full constitutional powers while requiring the first vice president and other vice presidents to leave office three months before polling has emerged as one of its most consequential provisions. The National Elections Commission has confirmed Dec. 22, 2026 as the election date.
Debate over size of government
During the debate, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Michael Makuei Lueth argued that reducing the size of government institutions, including parliament, is necessary to address unemployment in the country.
Makuei called on lawmakers to prioritize the public interest over protecting their own positions.
“The right honourable speaker, in the parliament, the parliament is supposed to enact a law for the people of South Sudan, not for themselves.”
He urged lawmakers to distance themselves from the legislation and accept the outcome, whether or not they remained in office.
“So whenever you are enacting a law, please distance yourself from that law and enact it. If you happen to fall in, you are lucky. If you are out, you are out.”
Makuei also pointed to the size of the transitional government, citing five vice presidents, 35 ministers, 10 deputy ministers and numerous commission and committee chairpersons.
“We have five vice presidents, and so forth. Five vice presidents. And we have 35 ministers. And ten deputy ministers. And so many chairpersons of the commissions and committees. This is the huge government we have.”
He said efforts to reduce the size of government should begin with parliament because lawmakers are responsible for making laws.
“And for you to downsize this government, the downsizing starts with you here in the parliament. It starts here because you are the lawmakers.”
Makuei argued that the size of government institutions is among the factors contributing to unemployment in South Sudan.
“Right Honourable Speaker, one of the causes of the unemployment here in South Sudan is all these huge institutions.”
“So, what I am saying is this. The right thing to do as people, representing the people of South Sudan, is to downsize. And this downsizing will not only be anywhere, but it will cover all the institutions of government.”
However, Paul Joseph Agau, a lawmaker representing Yirol West in Lakes State under the National Democratic Movement (NDM), rejected Makuei’s argument.
Agau accused the minister of misleading the public and parliament, arguing that South Sudan’s economic crisis cannot simply be attributed to the size of government.
“Right Honourable Speaker, my colleague, Honourable Michael, is misleading the public and the House. Right Honourable Speaker, this country is not in this crisis because of huge government.”
Agau also questioned the argument that government salaries are responsible for the country’s financial difficulties, saying lawmakers themselves have not been receiving adequate salaries.
“This government does not get paid. The Honourable Member’s salary is $90 and it does not come.”
He warned against using the election process to justify what he described as a rushed amendment of the law.
“Let not anybody mislead you that we are going for elections because of a huge government.”
Agau said lawmakers had been suffering from inadequate pay and questioned the rush to amend the legislation.
“There is nobody among you here who has been paid an adequate, dignified salary. You have been suffering.”
He further argued that parliament was established under the peace agreement and said changes affecting the agreement could have legal implications.
“We are not the reason why the government does not have money. The Parliament came as a result of the peace agreement.”
The bill also sets out the composition of state legislatures. It provides for 580 members across the 10 states, with each state allocated 58 members.
Half of the state lawmakers would represent geographical constituencies, while the other half would be elected through proportional representation from closed lists.
The state-level allocation also provides for 35% women’s representation through proportional representation and 15% through general party lists.
The amendments come as South Sudan prepares for the planned December 2026 elections.
The bill was initially tabled before the Transitional National Legislative Assembly for first reading on Sept. 16, with Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Wek Mamer Kuol saying the changes were intended to harmonize the electoral law with the Transitional Constitution.
The bill must still receive presidential assent before it becomes law. Under Article 85(1) of the Transitional Constitution, once a bill has been passed by the National Legislature, the president has 30 days to assent to and sign it into law.
Analyst challenges the bill
South Sudanese policy analyst Abraham Awolich has questioned the bill to allow the president to retain full powers before and during elections while dismissing the country’s five vice presidents, saying the move lacks a convincing legal basis.
Awolich, a co-founder of the People’s Coalition for Civil Action (PCCA), a civil society movement advocating political and civic reforms in South Sudan, made the remarks in an interview with political commentator Dr. Kuir ë Garang on his Kuirthiy TV programme.
Awolich said there could be a practical reason for retaining executive authority during elections to ensure the government continues to function, but argued that such an arrangement should apply to the presidency as a whole, including the vice presidents.
“There has to be an executive leader making decisions,” Awolich said. “But if you say the office of president should operate, then it is the presidency. The vice presidents should stay if you want to convince us.”
He said some countries had used arrangements under which senior civil servants temporarily exercised executive authority during elections, with their powers limited to the day-to-day running of government.
Awolich also referred to South Sudan’s 2010 elections, when some governors and other officials were removed and replaced by officials with provisional powers.
He questioned the legal basis for removing the five vice presidents while retaining President Salva Kiir.
“You dissolve an office, not individuals, not personalities,” he said. “If you want to dissolve the presidency for elections, then dissolve it.”
Awolich argued that retaining Kiir while removing his five deputies would concentrate executive authority in the president’s office.
“It is to unload the burden of these vice presidents on the president, so that he can become the sole decision-maker in South Sudan,” he said.
He further alleged that the legal provision would undermine the 2018 peace agreement.
“The intention really is to kill the revitalized peace agreement once and for all, and to get rid of the vice presidents, while you keep the status quo,” Awolich said.
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