The African Union (AU) and regional bodies must step in to guide a stable, African-context electoral transition in South Sudan rather than allowing unilateral executive decisions to dictate timing, according to an international relations expert.

Speaking on Africa Update, Sipho Mandula, researcher at the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, warned that South Sudan is critically unprepared to host general elections. Mandula highlighted that with voter registration incomplete, severe communication breakdowns, and an electoral management body lacking technical training, attempting to rush polls without civic education creates high operational and political risk.

The call for regional intervention comes after President Salva Kiir signed amendments to the National Elections Act of 2012, removing statutory mandates that required the completion of a permanent constitution and a national census prior to holding national polls. While Kiir’s office described the move as a major milestone, the South Sudan Opposition Alliance rejected the changes, citing a total lack of consultation among signatories to the 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement.

Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation Edmund Yakani added that bypassing core peace accord prerequisites undermines democratic transition, pointing to heavy military deployments across Juba as a sign of heightened political tension surrounding the move.

–ChannelAfrica–