The South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) has said that the manner in which the SPLM Party and its allies are amending the R-ARCSS, the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, and the National Elections Act, are is inconsistent with the process agreed upon by the Expanded Meeting of the Presidency.
A press release from SSOA on Sunday said the decision was not simply to amend the relevant instruments, but to do so through consultation and dialogue among the Parties signatory to the R-ARCSS.
“On 10 December 2025, the Expanded Meeting of the Presidency met to deliberate on the proposal to delink the permanent constitution-making process and the conduct of the National Population and Housing Census from the conduct of general elections, thereby paving the way for elections to be held on 22 December 2026,” the statement read in part. “The meeting agreed in principle to the proposed delinking. It was, however, recognized that implementing this decision would require amendments to relevant provisions of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) and the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan.”
It was therefore agreed that the leadership of the Parties signatory to the R-ARCSS should engage in dialogue to identify the specific provisions requiring amendment and, more importantly, to reach consensus on the outstanding matters that would have to be deferred until after the elections, the statement added.
The Expanded Meeting of the Presidency subsequently issued a Communiqué on its deliberations. Paragraph 3 of the Communiqué stated:
“The Expanded Meeting of the Presidency agreed to establish a committee to initiate amendments of the R-ARCSS and present them to the leadership of the Parties signatory to R-ARCSS to pave the way for the conduct of elections in December 2026; and a leadership body of the Parties (ITGoNU, SPLM/A-10, SSOA, SPLM FDs, and OPP) signatory to the Revitalized Agreement to address elections-related matters including grievances from the parties through dialogue.”
On 10 January 2026, the President issued Republican Order No. 01/2026 establishing a leadership body of the Parties signatory to the R-ARCSS and stakeholders to the Agreement for the purpose of conducting dialogue on election-related issues.
“However, to date, this body has not met. Despite this, the SPLM-IG and its allies proceeded to amend, unilaterally, the R-ARCSS, the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, and the National Elections Act, the latter of which is currently before the Transitional National Legislature,” the statement said. “The manner in which these amendments have been undertaken is inconsistent with the process agreed upon by the Expanded Meeting of the Presidency.”
“The decision was not simply to amend the relevant instruments, but to do so through consultation and dialogue among the Parties signatory to the R-ARCSS, with the objective of reaching a common understanding on the provisions to be amended and the matters to be deferred until after the elections,” the statement added.
According to SSOA, the unilateral pursuit of these amendments, while the very dialogue mechanism established for this purpose has never convened, undermines the spirit and purpose of the Expanded Meeting of the Presidency’s decision.
“It also raises serious questions about the value of establishing an inter-party dialogue mechanism if one party can proceed to take decisions on the very matters that the mechanism was established to address,” the statement said. “We therefore consider it unacceptable that amendments affecting the R-ARCSS and the legal framework governing the elections should be undertaken without the agreed participation and consensus of the Parties signatory to the Agreement.”
“The R-ARCSS is a negotiated political agreement among its signatories. Its implementation, amendment, and interpretation must therefore be approached in accordance with its provisions as the mechanisms agreed by the Parties. Anything outside this framework is not binding,” the statement concluded.
The statement was signed by Josephine Lagu, representing the People’s Democratic Movement, the deputy head of the alliance, Dr. Costello Garang Ring, representing the National People’s Movement of South Sudan, the secretary-general of the alliance, Dr. Lam Akol Ajuen, head of the National Democratic Movement, the deputy coordinator of security affairs, Julius Tabuley Daniel, head of the National Salvation Front, the secretary of information and official spokesperson, Moro Isaac Genesio, National Salvation Movement of South Sudan, the secretary of foreign relations, Cirillo Thon Ring, People’s Democratic Party, and alliance member Tut Jok Luak from the United Democratic Reform Alliance.
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