Kiir dissolves government ahead of December 22 elections

President Salva Kiir dissolved the Transitional Government of National Unity on September 22 and appointed an interim executive ahead of elections scheduled for December 22. This decision ends the power-sharing arrangement created by the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan.

The dissolution follows Kiir's signing of amendments to the electoral law that remove requirements for a national census and the completion of a permanent constitution. These provisions also allow the president to maintain his constitutional powers during the electoral period until a newly elected president is sworn in.

Eight opposition groups and civil society organizations sent a joint letter to IGAD Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu and African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf on September 23. The groups stated that the 2018 Revitalized Agreement failed to serve as a framework for managing the country's political transition.