South Sudan’s parliament plans to hold a National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast in the capital, Juba, next month as the country prepares for general elections scheduled for December, Speaker Joseph Ngere Paciko said on Tuesday.
Addressing lawmakers after returning from regional engagements abroad, Paciko said the two-day event, scheduled for July 7-8 at parliament premises, would bring together legislators and other stakeholders to pray for peace and elections in December.
“Our cardinal objective is to foster national unity, reconciliation and moral accountability among ourselves before the coming election by seeking divine guidance for peace, credible elections and service to the people,” he said.
The event will be held under the theme, “One Nation, One People, One Future: Seeking God’s Wisdom for Peace and Elections 2026.”
Paciko said the national prayer breakfast will be organized through a parliamentary prayer caucus, of which he serves as patron.
He also briefed parliament on the outcomes of an extraordinary meeting of speakers and clerks of national parliaments from East African countries held in Arusha, Tanzania, on June 11-12.
Paciko said South Sudan had declined an opportunity to host the upcoming East African Inter-Parliamentary Games, citing preparations for the country’s anticipated general elections.
“The games were supposed to be hosted here, but then I told my colleagues that we are going for elections, so there is no way we are going to have that serious activity,” Paciko told lawmakers.
As a result, South Sudan will participate in the games in Arusha rather than host them, he said.
Paciko said the decision reflects the government’s priority of organizing elections and managing related activities in the coming months.
South Sudan is preparing to hold its first general elections since gaining independence in 2011. The vote has been repeatedly postponed because of delays in implementing key provisions of the 2018 peace agreement, including security arrangements and constitutional reforms.
President Salva Kiir’s allies have insisted that elections should proceed in December, while the main opposition group and Western envoys argue that conditions for a credible vote have not yet been met.
On Monday, the National Elections Commission set Dec. 22, 2026, as the date for the country’s long-delayed general elections, while warning that legal inconsistencies and funding shortages could hamper preparations.
National Elections Commission Chairperson Prof.Abednego Akok Kacuol said the date was set in accordance with electoral law requiring the commission to announce polling at least six months in advance, but acknowledged gaps and contradictions in the legal framework governing the process.
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