Windhoek:South Sudan President Salva Kiir has dissolved the transitional government ahead of the country's first elections scheduled for December.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the presidential decree dissolved the national legislature and state governments, removed the first vice president and four other vice presidents from their posts, and established a caretaker government to manage the transition to the elections set for December 22.

Riek Machar, the first vice president, has been suspended since September 2025 and is currently on trial facing charges including treason. The decree, broadcast on the state-run South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation, confirmed that President Kiir will remain in office throughout the election period until a newly elected leader is sworn in.

On Monday, Parliament passed amendments to the National Elections Act, which Kiir signed into law on Tuesday. These amendments permit the president to stay in office during the election period and remove all vice presidents appointed under the 2018 peace deal.

The decree specified that the judiciary and security institutions will remain unchanged, while presidential advisers and envoys will continue to serve directly under Kiir's authority. Government ministries and state institutions were instructed to transition immediately to caretaker status to ensure operational continuity.

President Kiir appointed caretaker ministers to oversee key ministries, including presidential affairs, cabinet affairs, foreign affairs, defense, interior, justice, national security, finance, petroleum, trade, information and communications technology, East African Community affairs, and peacebuilding.

South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011, was soon after engulfed in a five-year civil war. The general elections scheduled for December 22 have been postponed twice before.