The Chairperson of the Political Parties Council (PPC), Hon. Eng. James Akol Zakayo Dhiak, and the members of the PPC Council, were today hosted by the African Union High-Level Ad Hoc Committee on South Sudan (CS) at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Juba.

The high-level ministerial working visit, led by CS Chairperson Hon. Minister Ronald Lamola of South Africa, focused on institutional readiness and political inclusivity ahead of South Sudan’s upcoming democratic elections scheduled for December 22, 2026.

During the strategic session, Hon. Eng. James Akol Zakayo Dhiak announced that the country’s multi-party ecosystem has reached a milestone of 39 fully registered parties. He outlined the PPC’s three operational pillars aimed at securing a successful transition: protecting an equitable civic space, strictly enforcing the inter-party Code of Conduct to eliminate hate speech, and guaranteeing the inclusion of women, youth, and minority groups.

“Successful, peaceful, and credible elections do not happen by chance,” stated Hon. Eng. James Akol Zakayo Dhiak during his address. “They demand absolute transparency, intense collaboration, and ironclad institutional readiness. The synergy between the PPC and the National Elections Commission (NEC) is the ultimate engine that will drive this process forward safely.”

To move the PPC’s regulatory and code enforcement operations out of Juba and into all ten states and three administrative areas, the Chairperson officially transmitted a critical capital and operational budget request of USD 23,080,000 to the CS delegation. The targeted funding package covers the completion of the PPC Headquarters, the deployment of a secure digital Advanced Registration System to handle the 39 fully registered parties, the procurement of a 51-vehicle field monitoring fleet, and operational contingency reserves.

To ensure absolute financial accountability, the PPC proposed that the funds be structured as an AU-managed basket fund coordinated through the African Union Mission in South Sudan (AUMISS).

The visiting CS ministerial delegation, comprising Foreign Ministers from South Africa, Algeria, Chad, Nigeria, and Rwanda, reaffirmed its Pan-African solidarity and commitment to supporting South Sudan’s transitional institutions under the Revitalised Agreement (R-ARCSS).