By William Madouk
The House Business Committee of the National Legislature has received the proposed amendments to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) following its tabling by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Michael Makuei Lueth.
Parliament spokesperson Oliver Mori said the proposals were presented through a letter addressed to Speaker Joseph Ngere Paciko on April 21, 2026, following consultations among parties signatory to the peace agreement.
“The House Business Committee of the National Legislature, which comprises the members of the Assembly Business Committee of the TNLA and the Business Committee of the Council of the State, held an expanded meeting of the House Business Committee, chaired by the Rt Hon. Joseph Ngere Paciko. It is the second House Business Committee but the first sitting for the speaker to share at the House Business Committee.
He added that the amendments had already been endorsed by the signatories, adopted by the expanded Presidency, and approved by the Council of Ministers before being forwarded to parliament for consideration.
The committee, which brings together members of the Assembly Business Committee and the Council of States Business Committee, unanimously agreed to send the proposed changes to the plenary for debate and final approval.
Supremacy clause scrapped
One of the most significant changes removes the requirement that a permanent constitution be completed before elections and supremacy of the agreement.
In a major shift, the amendments remove the supremacy under Article 8.3 of the peace agreement, which says, “This Revitalized Agreement shall take precedence over any national legislation, any existing agreement to the contrary, and if the provisions of a national legislation or previous agreement conflict with the terms of this Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement shall prevail.
However, Mori noted that “When there is controversy, what comes in the agreement is above. Now, this is amended, and the new one is amended to read as follows. Procedures for amendment of the agreement. There is no supremacy of this over that. This is a very big difference, by the way.”
He added, “The agreement is not the Holy Bible or the Koran. These are the two books on earth which nobody has the power to amend. It came from God, and it is like that. But constitutions, laws, and regulations are subject to amendment,
Delinking elections from key processes
“You are aware that in the agreement the permanent constitution is supposed to be done first before the election. Now… this can be delinked from the agreement,” Mori explained.
Under Article 6.4 of R-ARCISS, it says “The permanent constitution shall be completed not later than twenty-four (24) months following the establishment of the Transitional Period and shall be in place to guide the elections toward the end of the Transition.”
Mori explained that under the amendment, elections will instead be conducted based on the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011.
In the national election, as per Article 1.20. 9 of R-ARCISS, which says, “The voters register shall be published within six (6) months before the holding of elections.
Moris said, “It is amended by deleting and substituting it to read as follows: The voters’ register shall be published three months before the holding of the elections. Note, in the agreement, they say six months. Now, the amendment is three months, a big difference.”
TNLA 4
The proposed reforms also shift responsibility for the national census to an elected government after polls, effectively removing it as a precondition for elections.
Dispute with the monitoring body
Mori also criticized the leadership of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC), accusing its chair of failing to convene a full meeting to consider the amendments.
Instead, he said, the chair conducted “personal consultations… which is not in conformity with the agreement.”
Next step
The amendments will be tabled before the full parliament next week, where lawmakers are expected to debate and decide whether to adopt the changes.
“These are the important points I have just extracted from all the amendments as addressed to the speaker by Minister Michael Makuei Lueth. And the speaker presented it to the House Business Committee today,
“So, you will get all the details of this from A to Z when it is presented in the plenary next week, which I hope some of you or all of you will be present to follow this and inform the public accordingly.”
If passed, the reforms could significantly reshape the roadmap to South Sudan’s anticipated December 2026 elections.