JUBA — The South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), a coalition of opposition parties and armed groups, said on Monday that unilateral amendments to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), Transitional Constitution, and the National Elections Act undermine the spirit of the peace agreement and should not be undertaken without consultation among its signatories.
In a statement, the alliance said the parties to the peace agreement had previously agreed to use dialogue to determine which provisions of the R-ARCSS and related laws should be amended to facilitate the planned December 2026 elections.
“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 on the matters to be deferred until after the elections,” read part of the statement.
SSOA said the Expanded Meeting of the Presidency held on December 10, 2025, agreed in principle to delink the permanent constitution-making process and the National Population and Housing Census from the elections.
The alliance said the meeting also agreed that the parties signatory to the R-ARCSS should engage in dialogue to identify the provisions requiring amendment and reach consensus on matters that would be deferred until after the elections.
“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,” the group said.
“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.”
According to SSOA, President Salva Kiir Mayardit subsequently issued Republican Order No. 01/2026 on January 10, 2026, establishing a leadership body of R-ARCSS signatories and other stakeholders to address election-related issues.
SSOA alleged that despite the failure of the dialogue mechanism to meet, the SPLM-IG and its allies proceeded with amendments to the R-ARCSS, the Transitional Constitution, and the National Elections Act.
“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,” it said.
“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 and through the mechanisms agreed upon by the parties. Anything outside this framework is not binding.”
The opposition alliance said the process was inconsistent with the decision of the Expanded Meeting of the Presidency, which it said required consultation and dialogue among the parties.
SSOA argued that the R-ARCSS is a negotiated political agreement and that any amendments should therefore follow the procedures provided for in the agreement and involve its signatories.
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.
Others are 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.
