Africa-Press – South-Sudan. South Sudan’s parliamentary business committee has endorsed a set of contentious amendments to the country’s 2018 peace agreement, presented by Justice Minister Michael Makuei, clearing the way for debate and a possible vote in the full assembly next week.
The proposals seek to decouple the electoral process from two long-standing requirements under the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS): the adoption of a permanent constitution and the conduct of a national population and housing census.
If approved, elections scheduled for December 2026 would be held under the 2011 Transitional Constitution, with the census deferred to a future elected government.
The draft amendments also propose revising the electoral timetable, including shortening the deadline for publication of the voters’ roll from six months to three months before election day.
In addition, the changes target Chapter 8 of the agreement by removing a clause granting the agreement supremacy over the constitution, replacing it with standard constitutional amendment procedures.
Speaking to journalists on Friday after the meeting, parliament spokesperson Oliver Mori Benjamin said the expanded sitting of the House Business Committee brought together leadership from both the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) and the Council of States and was chaired by Speaker Joseph Ngere Paciko
“This is the second House Business Committee, but the first sitting for the speaker to chair,” Benjamin said.
He said the committee discussed two agenda items, including the submission of amendments to the R-ARCSS, which were formally transmitted in a letter dated April 21, 2026, from Justice Minister Michael Makuei Lueth to the Speaker.
According to Benjamin, the proposals followed consultations among signatories to the 2018 peace agreement, in line with Article 8.4, which provides for amendments by the parties.
“After consultation and a series of meetings, all the signatories agreed to amend some articles of the agreement,” he said.
He added that the proposals had earlier been endorsed by an expanded meeting of the presidency and the Council of Ministers before being forwarded to parliament.
Responding to concerns about altering the 2018 agreement, Benjamin said the amendments were legally grounded.
“The agreement remains intact. Constitutions, laws and regulations are subject to amendment,” he said. “This is not the first amendment.”
He cited previous extensions of the transitional period as precedents undertaken under the same provision.
Civil society groups, however, have raised concerns over the process.
Edmund Yakani, executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), told Radio Tamazuj that the amendment process through the cabinet and parliament was inconsistent with the requirements of Article 8.4 of the R-ARCSS.
“It is clear that the process will be seriously disputed by national stakeholders, IGAD, the African Union and the United Nations because of a lack of conformity with Article 8.4,” Yakani said.
He added that recent joint statements by Western diplomatic missions and the Troika group had already challenged the process, warning of growing regional and international pressure to protect the 2018 peace agreement.
“Our leaders should demonstrate political will and commitment for a genuine transition from violence to peace by respecting and honouring the legally required procedures for amendment,” Yakani said.
Yakani said the move could be aimed at paving the way for a further extension of the transitional period, warning of a repeat of past disputes that led to the revitalisation of the peace agreement and the reversal from 32 states to 10 states.
The proposed amendments are expected to be debated in plenary next week, where lawmakers will decide whether to adopt them.
The proposals have also been challenged by the opposition group led by detained First Vice President Riek Machar, a key party to the 2018 agreement, as well as by the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC). Their position is supported by several foreign missions and guarantors of the peace deal.
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