STAFF – President Salva Kiir Mayardit says the ongoing Inter-Party Dialogue must help create a clear pathway toward peaceful and credible general elections.
Speaking at the launch of the dialogue on Thursday, Kiir said the process should maintain the agreed direction toward elections and should not be used to renegotiate it.
“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,” Kiir said.
The President said the main objective should be to establish a common pathway toward peaceful and credible elections.
Kiir thanked regional and international leaders, religious leaders, civil society organizations and South Sudanese citizens for supporting the electoral process.
He also cited an August 2026 meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, saying the Council welcomed the government’s commitment to holding credible elections in December. Kiir urged participants to remain focused on election-related issues.
“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 will give political parties and other stakeholders an opportunity to raise concerns and address issues that could contribute to violence during the elections.
“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.
Akol said technical working groups have been established to discuss security, political issues, stakeholder participation and election readiness.
He said the stakeholder group will consider views from civil society, feminist groups and other stakeholders, while the election-readiness group will assess outstanding issues ahead of the polls.
Akol said the dialogue was initially expected to last 45 days but is now expected to take about two weeks, although the timeframe 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.
He said the dialogue is open to both signatories and non-signatories of the relevant agreements, as well as other stakeholders willing to participate.
Akol said differing political views are expected to be part of the process.
“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,” he said.
The Inter-Party Dialogue is focusing on security, political participation, stakeholder inclusion and election preparedness ahead of the planned December 2026 elections.
