National MPs Set to Receive New Vehicles Ahead of Elections

(JUBA)– Members of South Sudan’s national parliament are set to receive new vehicles after President Salva Kiir approved a plan to provide transport support ahead of the country’s scheduled December 2026 elections.

The Chairperson of the Information Committee at the Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA), Hon. Oliver Mori Benjamin, said on Monday that the president had given the green light for the purchase of vehicles for lawmakers, with the Ministry of Finance instructed to facilitate the process.

“At the end of the sitting, the Right Honourable Speaker made an announcement that the president had earlier given a green light for vehicles to be purchased for members of parliament, and the Minister of Finance has issued a non-objection certificate for these vehicles,” Mori said.

According to him, members of the executive leadership of parliament will receive V6 vehicles, while committee chairpersons and other lawmakers will be provided with five-door Toyota Land Cruisers.

“The leadership will get V6 vehicles, while committee chairpersons and the rest of the members will receive Toyota five-door vehicles. These are being considered as car loans to members. However, the Head of State may decide whether they remain loans to be repaid or become part of members’ entitlements, especially as elections are approaching,” he explained.

The announcement comes amid growing calls from lawmakers for improved welfare and transport arrangements before parliament is dissolved ahead of the planned December 22, 2026 elections.

On the same day, the National Legislature passed the National Elections Act, 2012 (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which was subsequently signed into law by President Kiir.

The amended legislation introduces significant changes to South Sudan’s electoral framework. It allows the incumbent president to remain in office with full constitutional powers throughout the election period until a newly elected president is sworn in.

The law also grants the president authority, within three months of the election date, to remove the First Vice President and other vice presidents from office. It further provides for the dissolution of the National Legislature, state legislative assemblies and state governments during the same period.

Additional provisions permit the president to partially dissolve the national government and appoint key officials, while also revising the composition of the national legislature. The new law separates the conduct of elections from the completion of the permanent constitution-making process and a national population and housing census.

South Sudan is scheduled to hold presidential and legislative elections on December 22, 2026, marking the country’s first elections since gaining independence in 2011.