Heavy security was deployed in South Sudan on Tuesday as President Salva Kiir prepared to dissolve the government ahead of the country’s first-ever election.
South Sudan achieved independence in 2011 but soon after a five-year civil war erupted.
Elections are due on December 22, having twice been postponed, but preconditions set out in a 2018 peace agreement are yet to be implemented. No voters have been registered, rival armies have not been unified and a permanent constitution has never materialised.
President Salva Kiir will dissolve the government at midnight (2200 GMT), his office said on Tuesday, in line with the agreed elections timetable, and appoint a new transitional government to oversee the vote.
It comes a day after changes to the National Elections Act that allowed Kiir to remain in office with full constitutional powers through the election period until a newly elected president assumes office. The legislation also provides for the first vice president and other vice-presidents to leave office within three months before election day.
There was an increased military presence in the capital, Juba, on Tuesday, AFP reports.
The Internal Security Bureau issued a directive ordering "all forces to be in uniforms and be on high alert for (3) days" from September 22, the news agency reports.
