Description: South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir, has dissolved the country’s transitional government, dismissed ministers and local representatives and appointed his own administration as the interim caretaker government. The move arrives ahead of the Dec 22 elections which according to many local media sources would only solidify Kiir’s authoritarian rule of the country. The dismissal falls in line with a series of government changes in the past couple of months which have been largely perceived as Kiir’s consolidation of power in the country. South Sudan latest crisis in the form of internal conflict began in early 2025, when opposition leader Riek Machar was imprisoned on charges of murder and treason. Sporadic attacks from the SPLM – IO militias as well as inter – ethnic conflicts in the border regions are consistent and escalating.
Impact: Kiir’s latest political move is highly likely ensuring his complete control over the South Sudan’s executive power bodies and emboldens the opposition towards armed resistance. The security and humanitarian state of the country is continuously deteriorating due to internal instability, while the current format of elections is likely to bring additional instability and high probability of more intense armed confrontations between government forces and oppositional militias. The potential for full – scale return to civil war conditions is currently low, however, with the elections approaching, opposition forces are likely to revert towards armed resistance in case they feel politically marginalized.