SSOA to bolster ties with SPLM ahead of 2026 elections

JUBA – South Sudan’s prominent opposition coalition, the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), announced Wednesday plans to strengthen its ties with the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) ahead of the nation’s anticipated December 2026 elections.

This move underscores the group’s evolving alignment with the government as the country inches closer to its first-ever elections.

The SSOA, one of the five signatories of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement that established the current unity government in 2020, has increasingly been viewed by analysts as aligning more closely with the government than with other opposition factions.

Following a meeting with President Salva Kiir Mayardit in Juba, SSOA Chairperson and Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Josephine Lagu expressed support for the ongoing Tumaini Initiative, a peace dialogue underway in Nairobi with opposition groups that did not sign the peace agreement.

Lagu also confirmed SSOA’s efforts to deepen relations with the SPLM as preparations for the 2026 polls advance.

“The SSOA welcomed the Tumaini Initiative and committed to engaging in discussions on major political issues, including the elections, and strengthening ties between the SSOA coalition and the ruling SPLM party as the country prepares for the December 2026 polls,” Lagu said, according to a statement from the presidency.

The meeting, which also included SSOA Secretary-General Lam Akol Ajawin, who leads the National Democratic Movement (NDM) – one of the eight factions making up the alliance – covered several national issues, including the Tumaini (“Hope”) Initiative.

Since the formation of the transitional government in February 2020, SSOA has faced internal disputes, including a notable disagreement over the nomination of a person to occupy the position of a vice president allocated to them based on an arrangement provided for in the deal.

Some SSOA factions, showing support for Kiir, requested the president select a vice president on their behalf because they couldn’t agree, leading to Kiir’s appointment of Hussein Abdelbaggi of the South Sudan Patriotic Movement (SSPM), led by Costello Garang, as vice president.

This move angered some key alliance members, including Dr. Lam Akol, who subsequently left Juba for Khartoum, where he remained until the conflict in Sudan erupted in 2023.

Abdelbaggi has publicly hinted at his support for Kiir in upcoming elections, often differing with other opposition voices that advocate for elections only after full implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

This stance mirrors that of the SPLM before the transitional period extension, emphasizing the need for elections as scheduled to stabilize the country’s political landscape despite pending provisions of the peace agreement.