A group of South Sudanese lawyers filed a petition on Monday with the Constitutional Court of South Sudan to challenge the decision of the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit to extend the transitional period by two years and postpone the general elections from December 2024 to December 2026.

Speaking to reporters after submitting the petition to the court, one of the lawyers,  Deng John Deng, expressed disapproval of the decision of President Salva Kiir to extend the transitional period:

We challenge the legality and constitutionality of the transitional period by 24 months in the Republic of South Sudan. We as lawyers thought that this extension is unconstitutional and is illegal and we are demanding our government to conduct the election within the time frame…We want the court to declare the extension of the transitional period unconstitutional and null and void. We also want the court to order the government to conduct the election within the time frame.

Lawyer Deng John Deng added that they will follow up on the petition next Wednesday.

International peace guarantors also criticized this move by the transitional government saying that it “reflects the failure of the transitional government to implement the 2018 peace agreement.”

The transitional government owes its decision to extend its period in office to the need to finalize the permanent constitution and complete the national consensus among other key matters. They also posit that they need more time to address vital tasks necessary for the successful conduct of elections. This decision was ratified by the parliament after endorsement by the cabinet.

This is the second time that the transitional period has been stretched. In September 2022, the transitional government extended the transitional period and announced that it would remain in office up until February 2025, aiming to avoid the emanation of violence in a period where the country was grappling with civil wars and instability.

Minister for Cabinet Affairs assured the public that the government intended to use the additional time to implement the Revitalized Agreement of the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), a plan curated to tackle the issues that arose due to power sharing, find lasting solutions and bring about enduring peace in South Sudan.