By Lodu William Odiya
The African Union Peace and Security Council has reiterated that South Sudan’s transitional period must end in February 2027 and should not be extended.
In a communique that was issued on Wednesday, the council expressed concern over significant funding and administrative shortfalls facing election bodies.
“Acting under Article 7 of its Protocol, the Peace and Security Council, on the latest developments, reiterates that the transitional mandate must conclusively end in February 2027 without further extensions,” the communique partly read.
The council called on the revitalised transitional government of national unity to publish a realistic and consensual electoral roadmap.
“AU requests the publication by the RTGoNU of a realistic, consensual electoral roadmap, as well as appeals to AU Member States, international partners, and donors in a position to do so to close the funding gap for the elections by submitting their concrete contributions to the AUC by October 2026,” it continued.
It also appealed to AU member states, international partners, and donors to help bridge the funding gap for the elections by submitting concrete contributions to the African Union Commission by October 2026.
The council said it will hold a dedicated session on electoral preparedness in October 2026 and requested the AU Commission to provide a detailed assessment of election readiness ahead of the meeting.
The report is expected to draw on findings from missions conducted by the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, the C5 group, and the AU Assessment Mission to South Sudan.
The communique also noted that a C5 summit is scheduled to be held online by December 2026.
The AU commended the government and electoral institutions for what it described as initial progress toward the planned December 2026 general elections, including the Political Parties Council’s registration of 39 political parties as of July 2026.
However, the council stressed that credible elections will require broad political consensus, inclusivity, an open civic space, citizen security, effective mechanisms to resolve disputes, and the full participation of women, youth, and displaced populations.
They called upon all parties to urgently complete the unification, training, and deployment of the Necessary Unified Forces (NUF) as a critical prerequisite for the permanent ceasefire and accelerate broader Security Sector Reform (SSR), Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) processes;
The council also reaffirmed that there is no military solution to any political impasse, demanding an immediate, unconditional cessation of all hostilities, military mobilisation, and inflammatory rhetoric.
“Calls upon the leadership, with respect to the national law, to release all political detainees and engage in inclusive, consensus-driven dialogue as the only path to national reconciliation,” the communique added.
The Council further called upon the RTGoNU to urgently allocate predictable domestic funding to the National Elections Commission (NEC), National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC), and Political Parties Council (PPC).