23/09/2026
Kiir Approves Electoral Law, Remains in Office and Paves the Way for Dismissal of His Five Deputies
Juba โ Deep Context | Report
President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday evening approved amendments to the National Elections Act of 2012, as amended in 2026, in a move that reshapes the structure of the executive branch during the electoral period. The amended law allows the president to remain in office with his constitutional powers, while granting him the authority to dismiss the First Vice President and the other four vice presidents during the three months preceding the general elections scheduled for December 22.
The presidential approval puts the amendments into effect after they were passed earlier Monday by the Transitional National Legislative Assembly, moving the debate over the future of the Presidency from the legislative stage to the stage of implementation.
According to the official South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation, the amended law provides for the continuation of the current president in office and the exercise of his constitutional powers during the electoral period until the elected president assumes office.
At the same time, the law grants the president the power to dismiss the First Vice President and the other vice presidents during the three months preceding the election date, in accordance with the constitutional framework on which the amendment was based.
Thus, the law does not mean that the five vice presidents have automatically been dismissed simply because the president signed it. Rather, it provides the legal basis upon which the president may issue decisions dismissing them during the specified period.
A President Staying in Office, While Five Deputies Face Departure
This is considered one of the most significant changes introduced by the new law to the arrangements governing the electoral period, as it places the president and the five vice presidents in different positions as the election approaches.
While the provision guarantees that President Kiir remains in office with his full constitutional powers until power is transferred to an elected president, it opens the door for the First Vice President and the four other vice presidents to leave office before the elections are held.
The current Presidency, established under the framework of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, consists of the president, the First Vice President, and four vice presidents, as part of a power-sharing arrangement created during the transitional period.
If the provision on dismissing the vice presidents is implemented, it would bring a significant change to the composition of the executive branch that has governed the country in recent years, particularly because the positions of the vice presidents have been closely linked to the political arrangements and power-sharing among the parties participating in the transitional government.
Why Was the Law Amended?
The Presidency said the amendments are intended to address inconsistencies in the National Elections Act and bring it into alignment with the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, 2011, and its amendments, while also providing a legal framework for conducting general elections.
The amended law also separates the holding of elections from the completion of the permanent constitution and the population census, and grants the National Elections Commission authority to organize elections at all levels of government.
The amendments come only three months before the date set by the National Elections Commission for the elections, scheduled for December 22, 2026.
A New Equation Within the Executive
However, the most politically sensitive aspect of the law concerns the future of the Presidency itself.
The law does not place the president and his deputies on the same path during the electoral period. The current president retains his position and constitutional powers, while the other components of the Presidency could be removed from office before the elections.
These arrangements raise legal and political questions about their relationship with the power-sharing structure established by the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, which assigns specific roles to the First Vice President and the other vice presidents within the Presidency during the transitional period.
Legal opinions published previously have already raised questions about whether the composition of the Presidency established by the peace agreement can be changed through an amendment to the Elections Act, particularly in light of provisions giving the peace agreement precedence over national legislation that conflicts with it.
Attention Turns to Kiir's Next Decisions
Following the entry into force of the amendment, attention will now turn to President Salva Kiir and whether he will use the powers granted to him by the law to issue decisions dismissing the First Vice President and the four other vice presidents, and when such action might be taken.
Therefore, the most significant development following the approval will not simply be the wording of the law itself, but how it is implemented in practice and whether the coming days will witness an actual restructuring of the executive branch before the elections.
While the government presents the amendment as part of completing the legal framework for the elections, the provisions allowing the president to remain in office and potentially dismiss his five deputies place the future of the Presidency itself at the center of the political debate, just three months before the announced date of South Sudan's first general elections since independence.
