South Sudan’s National Congress Party (NCP) has announced it will back President Salva Kiir Mayardit in the upcoming December 2026 presidential election and will not field its own candidate.

The party’s chairperson, Agnes Poni Lukudu, told journalists in Juba on Wednesday that the NCP will instead focus on contesting parliamentary seats while continuing its alliance with the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).

“I am not contesting, but some of my people will be contesting and I will stand with them throughout,” Lukudu said.

She added that party members are preparing to seek nominations for legislative positions.

Explaining the decision, she stated that the NCP views President Kiir, who is also the SPLM chairman, as its preferred leader.

“We are not thinking of contesting the presidency because we think the president of the SPLM is ours,” she said.

Lukudu noted that the NCP has worked alongside the SPLM since South Sudan’s independence in 2011, despite occasional tensions between the two parties.

She rejected claims that the South Sudanese NCP is still linked to Sudan’s former ruling National Congress Party, emphasising that the two parties separated after independence.

Lukudu said the Sudanese party had encouraged its southern members to join the SPLM, but they chose instead to form their own independent party.

She called on South Sudanese to respect political parties and their internal affairs, describing them as essential to democracy.

The NCP is currently reorganising its structures ahead of the elections.

The announcement comes as South Sudan ramps up preparations for its first general elections since independence.

On Wednesday, lawmakers approved controversial amendments to the 2018 peace agreement that postpone key requirements — such as a national population census and the completion of a permanent constitution — until after the December 2026 polls.

The National Elections Commission has set the voting date for December 2026, though it has warned of challenges including funding shortages and delays in implementing peace deal provisions.

While President Kiir’s allies insist the elections will proceed as planned, opposition groups argue that critical benchmarks like security reforms, constitution-making, and forces unification remain incomplete.