By Lodu William Odiya
President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Wednesday met with leaders of various political parties as South Sudan prepares to convene an Inter-Party Dialogue on September 17, 2026, to discuss the country’s electoral pathway and transitional political settlement ahead of the December 2026 elections.
In a statement by the presidential press unit yesterday, the dialogue is intended to provide a broad-based platform for political parties and other stakeholders to discuss, negotiate, and agree on key electoral issues that need to be settled before the elections, while also identifying important post-election issues requiring national consensus to preserve peace, political legitimacy, and continuity of state-building.
“The dialogue is expected to bring together political parties and groups from across the political spectrum, including those outside the 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement, to strengthen political understanding and create a conducive environment for peaceful, inclusive, and credible elections,” the statement partly read.
Among the issues expected to be discussed are constituency boundaries and representation, independent candidacy, whether elections will be conducted at all levels at once or in phases, election financing and campaign funding, and security arrangements for candidates, rallies, polling centres, election materials, and the transmission of results.
Political parties are also expected to discuss the political space available for campaigning, including freedom of assembly, movement, and speech; the use of digital or manual systems for voter registration, voting, counting, and results transmission; campaign modalities; and access for domestic, regional, continental, and international election observers.
“The dialogue will further consider mechanisms for preventing and resolving electoral disputes, including timely procedures for addressing complaints, as well as a political code of conduct committing participating parties to non-violence, lawful political engagement, and peaceful competition,” the statement continued.
Presidential Advisor on National Security Tut Gatluak Manime said the dialogue would go beyond electoral preparations and provide an opportunity for political leaders to address peace, security, and national stability ahead of the polls.
The Inter-Party Dialogue is part of ongoing efforts to build political consensus, strengthen confidence among competing political forces, and ensure that outstanding electoral and political questions are addressed through dialogue rather than confrontation.