NPA dismisses Kiir’s 2026 elections plan as “premature,” warns of fresh instability

JUBA – The National Parties Alliance (NPA) has flatly dismissed plans to hold general elections in December 2026, warning that the country remains far from ready and that rushing to the polls could undermine peace rather than advance democracy.

In a strongly worded statement issued Monday by the party Chairman, Joseph Nyieth, the alliance said the political, security, and legal conditions required for credible elections do not exist, despite a recent expanded meeting chaired by President Salva Kiir Mayardit, resolving to proceed with elections at the end of the transitional period.

The meeting brought together leaders of political parties signatory to the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), which laid out the roadmap for a democratic transition following years of conflict.

The NPA recalled that elections were initially scheduled for December 2024 under the peace deal but were postponed after the government and signatories failed to implement key provisions of the agreement.

These included security sector reforms, the unification and redeployment of forces, completion of the permanent constitution-making process, and the conduct of a national population census.

“None of the conditions that necessitated the postponement of the 2024 elections have been meaningfully addressed,” the alliance said, adding that the same political, economic, social, and security crises persist across the country.

While reaffirming its support for democratic elections, the NPA stressed that polls must be free, fair, peaceful, and inclusive, and must reflect the genuine will of the South Sudanese people rather than serve as a procedural exercise to legitimize the status quo.

The alliance urged the government to abandon what it described as a “rush to elections” and instead prioritize inclusive national dialogue, reconciliation, and sustained engagement with opposition parties and armed movements currently operating outside the country.

It outlined a set of non-negotiable preconditions for credible elections, including the safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons, the restoration and protection of political freedoms—such as freedom of expression, assembly, and association—and the implementation of a comprehensive and inclusive national reconciliation process.

The NPA also demanded the drafting and adoption of a permanent constitution with the full participation of political parties and civil society, the formation of a unified national army capable of protecting civilians and national sovereignty, and the conduct of a nationwide population census to guarantee fair and representative electoral boundaries.

“The repeated postponement of elections is a clear indication that the foundations for a democratic transition remain absent,” the statement said.

The alliance warned that holding elections in December 2026 without resolving these fundamental issues risks plunging the country into renewed political instability and insecurity, rather than consolidating the peace achieved under the fragile 2018 agreement.

The NPA is an umbrella body of holdout and marginalized opposition political parties that operate outside the main R-ARCSS power-sharing framework and are not fully represented in the transitional government.