Opposition Leader Presidential Candidate Nathaniel Garang Aduotdit 1
JUBA / NAIROBI – In an exclusive press release sent directly from the party leader to Ethio Insight, Nathaniel Garang Aduotdit, the presidential candidate for the Real People’s Liberation Movement Forward (Real-SPLM F), has issued a formal declaration completely rejecting the legitimacy of South Sudan’s current National Elections Commission (NEC).
The opposition movement outlined three foundational grounds for its rejection and established strict pre-conditions under which any credible national vote must take place.Â
This high-stakes announcement, delivered directly to Ethio Insight, injects fresh political uncertainty into South Sudan’s volatile electoral landscape following the government’s recent scheduling of democratic polls.
The Real-SPLM F first contends that the National Elections Commission, as it is presently constituted, lacks legal and institutional legitimacy. According to the opposition statement, the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) explicitly mandated that all primary electoral governing institutions be reconstituted on a strict power-sharing basis among the signatory parties.
Instead, the movement alleges that the ruling SPLM-IG under President Salva Kiir Mayardit has systematically stripped out nominees from alternative parties, effectively replacing them with political loyalists and turning the NEC into an organ of a single ruling party rather than a neutral national institution.
Second, the movement highlights that despite not being a formal party to the 2018 peace accord, it remains severely constrained by the structural failures of the agreement. The press release notes that the original signatory parties committed themselves to a definitive roadmap that included drafting a permanent constitution, forming a unified national army, implementing a transparent electoral framework, and guaranteeing free political space.
The Real-SPLM F argues that none of these fundamental pillars have been implemented in good faith, and it condemns the ruling coalition’s attempts to organize an election unilaterally through an institution it completely dominates.
Third, the presidential campaign points to a complete lack of safe, open political space across South Sudan. The document states that opposition leaders, candidates, civil society actors, and independent journalists continue to operate under a continuous climate of state intimidation, surveillance, arbitrary detention, and direct physical danger.
Aduotdit declared that his movement is not afraid of an election itself, but is instead afraid of a systemic fraud dressed up as an election, emphasizing that the citizens of South Sudan deserve a vote they can actually believe in.
Amid the escalating pre-election dispute, the Real-SPLM F expressed its full endorsement of the ongoing consultation processes being led by Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, the former President of Tanzania, who currently serves as the African Union High Representative and Chief Negotiator on South Sudan.
Kikwete recently concluded an intensive round of diplomatic consultations with the government and various opposition groups in Juba, and is currently briefing regional and international stakeholders on potential pathways toward a credible transitional arrangement.
The opposition movement is urgently calling on the African Union, IGAD, the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and regional neighbors like Ethiopia and Kenya to back Kikwete’s mediation. They insist that international partners must pressure the Juba regime to halt any immediate voting timelines until comprehensive political benchmarks are reached.
The campaign document details several non-negotiable conditions that must be established before a valid election can proceed. These conditions demand the complete reconstitution of the NEC with independent members nominated by all political parties under AU and IGAD observation, as well as a transparent Political Parties Council that operates with absolute parity.
Furthermore, the Real-SPLM F demands an immediate cessation of arbitrary arrests, an end to the harassment of the independent press, and the implementation of total disarmament. The movement asserts that guns must be collected from all party-aligned militias and that all disparate armed forces must be unified into a single, non-partisan national army prior to any ballot casting.
Finally, the platform requires the adoption of a permanent constitutional framework and verifiable safety guarantees for exiled opposition figures.
Addressing demands from Juba that Aduotdit travel to the capital to personally complete his candidate registration, the campaign office revealed grave security concerns. The statement notes that the leadership has credible reasons to believe that returning to South Sudan under the current regime-controlled security arrangements would place the candidate’s life in immediate danger.
The movement alleges that well-founded intelligence indicates elements aligned with the current administration intend to silence and physically eliminate the opposition leader upon his arrival.
The press release concludes by clarifying that Aduotdit remains fully committed to contesting a free election on home soil and will return to Juba the moment external security guarantees and institutional reforms are implemented. Until those international guardrails are firmly in place, the Real-SPLM F intends to manage its political campaign from an undisclosed location of safety in close coordination with international diplomatic networks.
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