JUBA—The Political Parties Council (PPC) says it has not received a formal complaint from Lam Akol, a veteran South Sudanese politician, over an internal dispute within his political party.
The dispute follows accusations by two political parties that the PPC chairperson unilaterally altered their official registration details, including the names and leadership of their parties, without their consent, raising questions over the council’s handling of party registration ahead of December’s elections.
The National Democratic Movement (NDM), led by Dr. Lam Akol, and the South Sudan National Movement for Change (SSNMC), led by Moro Isaac Genesio, said the changes to their previously registered parties could affect their parties’ ability to contest the elections under their recognised leadership structures.
Dr. Lam claimed they had tried to reach the PPC chairperson after discovering the changes to their party names, but he had been avoiding them.
Both parties were part of the 2018 peace agreement that established the now-dissolved transitional unity government.
Speaking to journalists at a press conference held in Juba on Wednesday, James Akol Zakayo, Chairperson of the Political Parties Council, said they have not received a formal complaint from any political party over an internal dispute.
“These are internal matters that need to be done within the party. Yes, we regulate parties. And if there are matters to do with political parties, they must be raised in the channels that are agreed upon,” Akol said.
Akol said political party disputes should be addressed through established internal mechanisms and official channels rather than through the media.
He emphasized that although it regulates political parties, internal matters should first be handled within the parties before being brought to the regulator through the appropriate procedures.
Akol cautioned against handling political party disputes through the media, stressing that it would respond once a formal complaint was submitted.
“We have not received any formal complaint from them. So until we receive a formal complaint, then we respond. But we don’t handle our matters in the media.”
Lam Akol has been involved in a leadership dispute with a rival faction of the NDM led by Mahjoub Biel, which also claims the party’s name.
The dispute over the registration records centres on whether the PPC chairman had the authority to make the changes and whether the council followed the procedures required by law.
Political parties are preparing for the general elections scheduled for December 22, 2026, following the dissolution of the transitional unity government by President Salva Kiir in September.
The vote would be the country’s first general election since independence in 2011. Elections have been repeatedly postponed during the transitional period established under the 2018 peace agreement.