By Koch Madut
South Sudan’s Transitional National Legislative Assembly on Monday adopted President Salva Kiir’s opening parliamentary speech as a guiding policy ahead of the country’s planned 2026 elections.
Last month, Kiir outlined key priorities in his address, emphasizing the pursuit of lasting peace and urging opposition holdout groups to embrace dialogue. He described reconciliation as essential for national unity as the country prepares for general elections in December 2026.
Deng Tiel A. Kuur, presenting a parliamentary committee report on the speech, said Kiir had called on lawmakers to strengthen oversight of the executive branch.
“The president urges the parliament to serve with honor and unity. This call by the president is a challenge to parliament to live up to its mandate. We therefore, as parliamentarians, must step up our core role of oversight over the executive,” Tiel said.
He noted that Kiir placed peace and security at the center of his agenda, making the speech a crucial document for government institutions.
“Peace, security, and national unity. The president declared in his speech that peace, security, and national unity remain the top priority of his government agenda. By saying South Sudan will not go back to war,” he added.
Deng said lawmakers must support the executive in completing remaining tasks to ensure credible elections in 2026.
“To complete the remaining tasks in time for free, fair, and credible elections in 2026, parliament agrees with the president’s goal for all parties to recommit without precondition to the agreement. The president has addressed one of the main issues underlying the attainment of peace, security, and unity in the country,” he said.
Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomuro praised lawmakers for their engagement with the speech.
“Allow me, on behalf of my colleagues, to express my gratitude to this August House for acknowledging the president’s speech. I also thank parliament for assigning a well-represented select committee that analyzed the speech and provided a reasonable assessment,” Lomuro said.
He said all branches of government were called upon to preserve peace and ensure a transition to elections in December 2026.
“All of us are called upon to maintain peace and take the country to elections in 2026. It is our commitment, individually and politically, that we must hold elections, believing that only elections can bring permanent, durable peace to our country by allowing people to elect their own leaders,” he said.
Lomuro added that the speech covered critical issues relevant to all ministries.
However, Nadio Arop Dudi, a representative of the Women’s List in Unity State, warned that repeatedly discussing the speech without implementation would render the exercise meaningless.
She urged parliament to establish mechanisms to ensure the president’s directives are acted upon.
