Otto Abut|CRN- President Salva Kiir Mayardit has said the ongoing Inter-Party Dialogue should establish a clear pathway toward peaceful and credible general elections while maintaining the agreed direction of the electoral process.
Speaking during the launch of the dialogue on Thursday, President Kiir said the government and political parties had been engaged in discussions since December 2025 on the elections and the conclusion of the transitional period.
Kiir stressed that the dialogue should not become a platform for renegotiating or changing the agreed direction of the electoral process.
“This inter-party dialogue is not a place for negotiation and disagreement. It is not a place to shift the direction of the path that we have taken,” President Kiir said.
He said the primary objective should instead be to establish a common pathway toward peaceful and credible elections.
The President thanked regional and international leaders for their support for South Sudan’s electoral process, as well as religious leaders, civil society organizations and citizens.
He specifically acknowledged South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Kenyan President William Ruto, Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh, Sudanese leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.
Kiir also expressed appreciation to South Sudanese religious leaders, civil society organizations and citizens for entrusting the leadership with the responsibility of conducting the elections.
He referenced an August 2026 meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, saying the Council had expressed appreciation for the government’s commitment to holding credible elections in December 2026.
President Kiir urged participants to remain focused on election-related matters.
“We will celebrate respectfully and never overstep your mandate of discussing election-related matters.”
Hon. Albino Akol Atak, Deputy Rapporteur of the Inter-Party Dialogue, said the process is intended to address concerns surrounding the upcoming elections and help ensure that the electoral process is conducted peacefully.
Speaking on Thursday, Akol said political parties and other stakeholders would have an opportunity to raise concerns, discuss potential obstacles and seek clarity on issues that could contribute to violence during the electoral process.
“When people talk, when people discuss, when people raise issues and then get clarity on this, this is where we will ensure that the process will be non-violent,” Akol said.
He said the dialogue has established technical working groups to examine key areas, including security, political issues, stakeholder participation and election readiness.
According to Akol, the stakeholder participation group will consider the views of civil society, feminist groups and other stakeholders, while the election-readiness group will examine whether outstanding issues remain to be addressed before the polls.
He said the technical preparations are intended to help the parties develop a common understanding of how the elections can be conducted peacefully, credibly and with broad acceptance.
Akol acknowledged that the Inter-Party Dialogue was initially expected to run for 45 days but said extensive technical preparations had already been undertaken.
With less than three months remaining before the scheduled election date, he said the steering body currently expects the dialogue to take approximately two weeks, although the duration could change depending on the discussions.
“According to the programme we are putting it two weeks, and maybe it will be less or more according to the discussion,” he said.
Akol added that the technical working groups had already identified issues expected to guide the discussions while emphasizing that the groups were not determining the outcome in advance.
He said the dialogue is open to both signatories and non-signatories to the relevant agreements, as well as other stakeholders willing to participate.
The process, he said, was designed to accommodate differing political views rather than bring together only those who already agree.
“There is no way you dialogue with somebody who agrees with you. If there was no issue that we were disagreeing on, we would not have even initiated the dialogue,” Akol said.
He acknowledged that participants may continue to hold different positions, saying the purpose of the dialogue is to identify and reconcile those differences.
Akol also said parties or stakeholders who choose not to participate would have their decision respected, while those taking part would continue discussions on issues requiring resolution.
The Inter-Party Dialogue is expected to focus on security, political participation, stakeholder inclusion and election preparedness as political parties and other stakeholders discuss outstanding concerns ahead of the planned December 2026 elections.
The dialogue comes amid heightened political debate over the electoral process. The opposition SPLM-IO has publicly rejected the dialogue, while other political actors and civil society groups have raised concerns about the conditions surrounding the December polls.