President Salva Kiir has assured African Union and regional leaders that his government is making its best effort to prepare for free and fair elections in December.

Kiir spoke on Tuesday in a virtual meeting with the African Union’s High-Level Ad Hoc Committee on South Sudan, known as the C5, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

He told the meeting that the legal requirements for the vote have been met, with all the necessary amendments passed, and that administrative, logistical and financial preparations are under way. According to Kiir, the transitional unity government and the parliament have both been dissolved, while work on voter registration and election security continues.

He said 2,508 voter registration centres have been assessed ahead of the December vote. Voter registration books have been approved and printed, and are now being sent out to the states. Security arrangements, he added, are also moving forward well.

Kiir further reported that an inter-party dialogue on election-related matters started last week and is going well. He closed by pledging that the government is doing everything possible to hold a fair and free election, which he said would give South Sudanese the chance to choose the leaders they deserve.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who chairs the AU C5, struck a more cautious note. He described the 2018 peace agreement as the country’s paramount legal instrument and called on all parties to comply with it and avoid unilateral steps that could weaken it. Ramaphosa acknowledged that progress has been made toward the elections but said much difficult work remains.

South Sudan is scheduled to hold general elections on December 22, the first national vote since the country gained independence in 2011.