President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir has dissolved the country’s transitional administration, just three months before the long-delayed elections scheduled for December.
The move, announced on Tuesday, follows years of political uncertainty, with the country having postponed its first national elections twice and repeatedly extended the transitional period.
Under a revised law signed on Monday, Kiir dismissed all five vice-presidents and disbanded parliament, along with national and state-level administrations.
The president, who is seeking re-election under the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), is expected to face limited competition in the December contest.
No major opposition figure has formally declared a challenge, while opposition leader Riek Machar remains under house arrest after being removed from his vice-presidential position and charged with treason.
Machar became vice-president under a 2018 peace agreement designed to end five years of conflict between forces supporting him and Kiir.
Despite the dissolution, Kiir will retain constitutional authority until a new president takes office.
He has also restored several ministers and regional governors in caretaker roles ahead of the 22 December vote.
The announcement came amid heightened security in the capital, Juba.
Soldiers and national security personnel reportedly restricted access to government offices, while armed patrols were visible across parts of the city.
A senior government official told the BBC that workers who arrived at their offices were turned away and instructed to return the following Monday.
United Nations agencies in Juba also directed employees to work from home while developments were assessed.
The president last week removed the head of the national electoral commission, Abednego Akok Kacuol, without providing an explanation. Gabriel Bol Deng, the commission’s secretary-general, was subsequently appointed to the position.
Akok had warned in August that the electoral body required about $250 million to organise the poll but had received only $21 million.
Meanwhile, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO), led by Machar, cautioned residents in June against participating in preparations for the election.
The Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), which supervises the implementation of the 2018 peace accord, described the country as being at a “critical phase”.
The commission said several important provisions of the agreement remained unresolved and called on political actors to establish a credible electoral process and ensure a peaceful transition out of the prolonged interim period.
The latest extension of the transitional arrangement was originally scheduled to expire on 22 February 2027.
By: Magdalene Agyeiwaa Sarpong