South Sudan: President Dissolves Govt as Controversy Engulfs December Poll
Analysts say last-minute legal changes give Kiir broad control as no voters have been registered and the constitution remains unfinished, officials said.
- On Tuesday, South Sudan President Salva Kiir dissolved the transitional government at midnight to facilitate the first-ever national election scheduled for December 22.
- Recent changes to the National Elections Act grant Kiir total control during the election period, removing all vice-presidents including opposition leader Riek Machar, currently jailed on treason charges.
- The Internal Security Bureau ordered "all forces to be in uniforms and be on high alert for days" from September 22, as heavy military presence prompted residents in Juba to close shops.
- Independent analyst Machot Amuom warned of "ambiguity" in the legal changes, stating "The new law gives the president full powers... He can decide even not to go for elections for another year or another two years."
- Despite the dissolution, the government has failed to implement preconditions from the 2018 peace agreement, including unifying rival armies; with no voter registration or constitution, observers fear a return to conflict.
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Salva Kiir had promulgated on Monday an electoral law allowing him to remain at the head of the country until the presidential election on 22 December, for which he was a likely candidate. But the government hardly implemented the preconditions for the holding of the elections, as set out in the 2018 peace agreement.
The vice-presidents, ministers and local administrators were relieved of their duties, while the assemblies were dissolved, according to a presidential decree issued on Tuesday evening. The president remains in office. According to Amnesty, before the first elections in the country's history scheduled for 22 December, the president of South Sudan Salva Kiir dissolved the transitional government on Tuesday and appointed an interim administration …
South Sudan: President dissolves govt as controversy engulfs December poll
Heavy security was deployed in South Sudan on Tuesday as the president prepared to dissolve the government for the first-ever election, with analysts warning that last-minute legal changes give him total control over the transition
South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, dissolved the transitional government on Tuesday and appointed an interim administration before the country's first elections.
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