South Sudan peace talks are at risk of collapsing due to disagreements over a new security law, threatening stability ahead of the country’s first election. 

The South Sudan peace talks, which were close to reaching a conclusion, encountered a major obstacle when opposition groups demanded the removal of a newly passed bill that allows the detention of people without an arrest warrant before signing a proposed agreement.

Since May, Kenya has been hosting high-level meetings between government representatives and rebel opposition groups that were not part of the 2018 agreement. This agreement ended a five-year civil war that resulted in about 400,000 deaths and millions of displacements. Despite the agreement, violence has continued to erupt in the country, which has a population of 9 million.

Pagan Amum Okiech, representing the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance, told the Associated Press on Tuesday night that it would be “meaningless to sign any agreement if the draconian National Security Act is signed into law by the president.”

Last week, parliament voted in favor of the 2015 bill, and President Salva Kiir has 30 days to approve it for it to become law. This comes ahead of the country’s first-ever election on December 22.

“This law violates the fundamental rights and freedoms of South Sudanese citizens, and it eliminates civic and political space," Amum said. “There can be no peace or democracy under such a law.”

Edmund Yakani, the executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, a non-profit that engages university students and fresh graduates, criticized the security bill, stating it “created a negative spirit for the negotiations."

Human Rights Watch has also urged Kiir to reject the controversial bill, saying it will further undermine human rights and strengthen national security agencies with a history of longstanding rights abuses.

The talks, dubbed Tumaini (Swahili for hope), have resulted in a draft agreement proposing to extend the country's transitional period and postpone the upcoming election. This would allow time to complete the country's constitution and electoral laws, establish constituency borders, and create a unified security force as proposed in the 2018 peace talks.

Some Western envoys also recommend delaying the poll “to guarantee a free and fair election.”

Kiir has been adamant about holding the election in December and has criticized the envoys.