Kiir tells opponents to start preparing for 2026 elections

JUBA — South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday called on his political opponents intending to challenge him in December 2026 elections to start preparing.

In his key address during the opening session of the 8th Governors Forum in Juba, Kiir said those seeking to run for elections should start preparing themselves, saying 24 months is too short.

“Our collective determination to achieve durable peace led to postponement of the elections and consequent extension of the revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity for another 24 months. I want to remind all those who are interested to contest in the election that 24 months is not a big thing. If you are not prepared, you better start preparing yourself,” Kiir said.

He said the Tumaini Initiative will become part of the existing 2018 agreement.

“My recent decision to restructure the government delegation Tumaini Initiative peace process that is taking place in Nairobi, Kenya is informed by the need to speed up and conclude the negotiation process. It is also important to make it clear that the tumaini Initiative was not intended to negotiate a new parallel peace agreement aimed to replace or dismantle the existing peace agreement which we had signed in 2018.”

For his part, Augustino Jadalla Wani, Governor of Central Equatoria State said the Governors Forum gives them a unique platform that enables them to address pertinent issues and challenges in their respective State and Administrative Areas.

“As a result, this 8th Governors Forum, organized under the theme Forging Sustainable Peace, committed action in the extended RSS transition, is relevant to our current situation and comes at most appropriate time when our citizens demand commitment from us leaders to confer confidence for sustainable and lasting peace in anticipation of democratic elections come 2026,” said Jadalla.

No other candidate has declared their candidacy, but historical foe Machar is expected to run.

South Sudan was initially expected to go for elections in December 2022, but Kiir and Machar in August that year extended their stay in power through February 2025 with elections being rescheduled for December 2024, two months before end of transitional period.

In September, the two men also agreed to push elections to December 2026, extending the transitional period through February 2027.

The justifications for the extensions given by the two men is their failure to complete critical benchmarks on the agreed timeline.