Kiir fires head of elections body

South Sudan President Salva Kiir has announced the removal of the head of the country’s electoral body only three months before the country’s first election, reports TimesLIVE. Abednego Akok Kacuol was fired on Tuesday as chairperson of the National Elections Commission, without Kiir publicly giving a reason. He will be replaced by Gabriel Bol Deng Majok, who served as the electoral commission’s secretary general. Akok was appointed as chairperson of the electoral body in August 2012 and reappointed in November 2023 after the commission was reconstituted under a 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war. South Sudan has repeatedly postponed elections since gaining independence in 2011, citing delays in implementing the peace deal. The transitional period and implementation of the 2018 peace agreement have been extended several times. Under the current road map, the transitional government is expected to be dissolved on 22 September, and elections are set for 22 December, ahead of the transitional period expiring in February. Political analyst Abraham Kuol Nyuon, dean of the University of Juba graduate college, said the leadership change could further complicate preparations, including voter registration. ‘This is a delay tactic,’ Kuol told AP, adding that ‘the people of South Sudan should forget about the 22 December polls.’ The move also has raised questions over the legal process for the removal of an electoral body chairperson. The National Elections Act sets out a specific procedure and lists grounds for removal, including proven partiality, inability to perform duties and gross misconduct. The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warned last week that elections without safeguards and inclusive political dialogue could fuel renewed conflict.

Full TimesLIVE report