Political Divisions Threaten South Sudan’s 2026 Elections, Activist Warns

By Simon Deng

The Community Empowerment for Progress Organisation (CEPO) has cautioned that escalating political divisions, intolerance, and what it terms “political indiscipline” could heighten the risk of violence and instability in South Sudan, jeopardizing the scheduled 2026 general elections.

CEPO Executive Director Edmund Yakani stated on Wednesday that ongoing fragmentation within political groups and the emergence of rival factions signal a deteriorating political environment, threatening to undermine a peaceful electoral process.

Yakani emphasized that this situation reflects a pattern of political immaturity and intolerance which, if unaddressed, could further exacerbate violence and instability nationwide.

“We have seen signs of political indiscipline, immaturity, and intolerance that will further fuel violence and instability in South Sudan, as demonstrated by the continuous splits and divisions among various political establishments,” Yakani said in a statement on Wednesday.

He further elaborated that political immaturity and indiscipline have consistently characterized South Sudanese politics, noting that divisions within the same political groupings into factions directly contribute to violence and instability.

“The current political class and elites are overly obsessed with playing politics in an intolerant manner, which has undermined the safety and protection of our civilian population, leading to increased violence and instability across the country.”

“It is not that South Sudanese love violence or desire an unstable state. It is simply that our political class is overly obsessed with political indiscipline, immaturity, and intolerance, as evidenced by the continuous splits within their political groupings.”

Yakani warned that South Sudan will remain susceptible to violence and instability as long as the political class persists in practicing indisciplined, immature, and intolerant politics.

“As the election approaches, competition is very high, and we are likely to see a rise in violence if politicians do not cease their immature, indisciplined, and intolerant political behavior,” he asserted.

“We must exercise our constitutional rights as citizens with the right to vote whenever ballot boxes are made available,” he added.

“The language of bullets for controlling power must come to an end. We need to see sufficiently favorable conditions for the holding of the election that the country is expecting.”