{"id":44123,"date":"2026-04-23T16:08:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/?p=44123"},"modified":"2026-04-23T16:08:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:08:59","slug":"activists-raise-alarm-over-peace-agreement-amendments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/23\/activists-raise-alarm-over-peace-agreement-amendments\/","title":{"rendered":"Activists raise alarm over peace agreement amendments"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sabri Dibaco <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Civil society activists have expressed serious concerns over the country\u2019s preparation for the elections in December 2026.<\/p>\n

They warned that both practical loopholes in peace agreement amendments and a lack of electoral readiness could undermine the credibility of the process.<\/p>\n

In an interview with No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper on Wednesday, Yakani emphasised that any amendment to the peace agreement must strictly follow the procedures outlined under Article 8.4.<\/p>\n

He explained that the amendments should be initiated by the signatory to the parties and subjected to a structured, inclusive process involving stakeholders such as civil society, youth, women, academia, and faith-based institutions.<\/p>\n

According to Yakani, the process should move from the parties to a broader assembly for deliberation and voting before proceeding to the Council of Ministers for endorsement and eventually to the parliament.<\/p>\n

However, he raised concerns that the current amendment process appears to have bypassed key consultative stages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge we have now is that the procedure is being disputed, noting that deviations from the agreed framework could lead to rejection of the proposed changes,” Yakani said.<\/p>\n

He further criticised attempts to amend or remove Articles 8.2 and 8.3 of the agreement, arguing that these provisions are not directly linked to elections and that their deletion risks weakening the supremacy of the peace agreement itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese amendments are being justified as necessary for elections, but removing key provisions of the agreement will face strong resistance from stakeholders,\u201d Yakani warned.<\/p>\n

Yakani stressed that polls are not a one-day event but a process governed by the National Elections Act (amended 2023), requiring adequate preparation, funding, and security.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that critical steps such as voter registration and verification have not yet begun, despite an approaching deadline for the National Elections Commission to publish the final voter register by June 22.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we speak, the materials are not ready, the equipment is not ready, and the funding is not available; there is no miracle in electoral processes,” Yakani said.<\/p>\n

He cautioned that the country is \u201cbadly back-scheduled\u201d and risks either conducting rushed, non-credible elections or facing another postponement.<\/p>\n

Yakani also accused some political leaders of using assurances about election readiness to manage public pressure, warning that such statements may not reflect the reality on the ground.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Programme Officer for One Citizen Network for Democracy (OCND) Emmanuel expressed serious concerns about South Sudan\u2019s preparedness for the planned December 2026 elections.<\/p>\n

He warned that the process risks undermining peace and stability if key issues remain unresolved.<\/p>\n

Lexson noted that while the elections present an important opportunity to renew political leadership, build public trust, and strengthen democratic governance, the country\u2019s context, marked by insecurity, displacement, economic challenges, and weak institutions, poses significant risks.<\/p>\n

He stressed the importance of an inclusive national dialogue involving all stakeholders, including opposition groups and signatories to the peace agreement, as a foundation for credible elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout such inclusivity and political will from leaders to resolve outstanding issues, he warned that the elections may not be free, fair, or widely accepted,” Lexson said.<\/p>\n

He further described the current state of the peace agreement as fragile, citing a lack of political commitment to fully implement its provisions.<\/p>\n

The activist also raised concerns over continued political detentions, which he said could heighten tensions and undermine trust in the electoral process.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless inclusive dialogue is prioritised and unresolved issues addressed, the prospects for peaceful and credible elections in 2026 remain uncertain,” Lexson stated.<\/p>\n

However, recently, the Council of Ministers amended aspects of the electoral and constitutional framework, mainly to align preparations for the December 2026 elections, and this includes Electoral Laws Adjustment, Extension & Alignment of Timelines, institutional reforms, and Legal Consistency with the peace agreement.<\/p>\n

The amendments were made in line with the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), especially provisions that require parties to agree before changes are implemented.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sabri Dibaco Civil society activists have expressed serious concerns over the country\u2019s preparation for the elections in December 2026. They warned that both practical loopholes in peace agreement amendments and a lack of electoral readiness could undermine the credibility of the process. In an interview with No. 1 Citizen[Read More…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CEPO-Executive-Director-Edmund-Yakani-courtesyMinister-Semaya-Visits-Governor-Adil-Discusses-Key-Development-Projects-in-Juba.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44123"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44125,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44123\/revisions\/44125"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onecitizendaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}