Opposition Parties Accuse PPC of Interfering in Party Leadership

By Simon Deng

Leaders of three opposition political parties have accused the Political Parties Council (PPC) of interfering in their internal affairs by replacing party leaders and altering registration details, alleging that the move violates the law and could deepen political divisions ahead of the anticipated 2026 elections.

The leaders of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), South Sudan National Movement for Change (SSNMC) and People’s Liberal Party (PLP) raised the allegations during a press conference in Juba.

Lam Akol Ajawin, Chairperson of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), said the alleged replacement of the top leadership of the three political parties by the PPC amounted to a violation of the law.

Ajawin accused the Chairperson of the Political Parties Council, James Akol Zakayo, of violating the Constitution and interfering in the leadership of political parties, warning that such actions could further deepen political divisions ahead of the anticipated 2026 elections.

“Accordingly the PPC chairperson fraudulently and dishonestly replaced the listed leaders of the NDM, SSNMC and PLP with individuals unknown to the members who work hard to establish those parties and paid the required council fees for registration,” Ajawin said.

The dispute follows the publication of a new list of registered political parties by the PPC. The list identifies the National Democratic Movement (NDM) under Mahjoub Biel Turuk and the South Sudan National Movement for Change (SSNMC) under Clement Juma.

The PPC had earlier announced on June 30, 2026, that it had approved the registration of five political parties, including the NDM, PLP and SSNMC, following what it described as a compliance and verification process under the Political Parties Act. The Council said the registrations brought the number of fully registered political parties to 39 at the time.

Ajawin further questioned Zakayo’s continued leadership of the PPC, accusing him of bringing the council into disrepute.

“Such a person with no integrity and with no respect to the oath of office that he took when he was appointed and when he took the oath of office is not qualified to continue occupying that office because he brought Council to disrepute,” he said.

Bol Joseph Agau, Secretary General of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), said the PPC chairperson had replaced the leaders of the NDM, SSNMC and PLP.

“There is nowhere in the Political Parties Council Act where the Chairperson of the Political Parties Council can change the name of a leader of one party to another person,” Agau said during the press conference in Juba.

Agau said the opposition parties became aware of the changes after documents began circulating in Juba.

“We noticed from papers circulating on the streets of Juba that our names, the names of the leaders of our party have been changed to different people and that the list of the registered political parties have increased from 39 when the registration closed to 46 when that list appeared.”

Agau said the PPC chairperson had announced the registration of the NDM, SSNMC and three other political parties on June 30, 2026, describing the move as the endorsement and registration of key political parties.

He accused the PPC chairperson of breaching the Political Parties Act and said the council should have notified parties before taking action over any alleged violations.

“Key sections under the political parties’ council Act 2012, say, if the Chairperson thinks that any of the parties has violated something, he must first write to that party, specifying what he believes is a violation of the Act,” he said.

Moro Isaac Genesio, Chairperson of the South Sudan National Movement for Change (SSNMC), said political parties, including the NDM, had applied to the PPC for full registration.

“The registration of these political parties did not come out of blue. It was a tedious process that was undertaken since 2021. Before the reconstitution of the PPC, the NDM and the South Sudan National Movement for Change, applied to the PPC for full registration,” Genesio said.

Genesio said the parties became concerned after receiving the new list of registered political parties.

“Upon receiving the circulating new list on September 23, 2026, we tried to contact the Chairman of the PPC, but he was evasive. Shortly afterwards, the Secretary General confirmed that the changes were authentic, and stated…”

The statement from Genesio ends at this point in the material provided. His full quotation or the PPC’s response should be added before publication if available.

Efforts to reach the Political Parties Council (PPC) for comment were unsuccessful, as attempts to contact its officials were not successful.