South Sudan has postponed its first national elections since gaining independence in 2011, moving the polling date from December 22 to February 11, 2027. The National Election Commission published a revised timetable on social media, setting new dates for candidate nominations and campaigning. The commission did not provide a reason for the postponement, which marks another delay in a series of setbacks, including previous delays in 2022 and 2024.
Voter registration was scheduled to begin on November 14 and will run until November 28 at 3,161 registration centers across the country's 10 states and three administrative areas. Commission chairperson Gabriel Bol Deng urged eligible citizens to register and called on political parties, civil society groups, and the media to help raise public awareness about the electoral process.
The postponement comes amid concerns about insecurity, funding shortages, and the country's readiness to vote. The South Sudan Civil Society Forum had expressed concerns that conditions did not support fair, credible, peaceful, and inclusive elections within the remaining time. The forum called for an inclusive dialogue on electoral preparations and the country's transition.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of civil war. A new conflict broke out in 2013 between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and followers of his rival, Riek Machar. A peace deal was signed in 2018, and a transitional government of national unity was formed in 2020. However, fighting escalated in early 2025, and Machar was placed under house arrest in Juba that March.
Machar and seven co-defendants are on trial on charges including treason, murder, and crimes against humanity linked to an attack on an army garrison in Nasir, in the northeast. They deny the charges. The transitional unity government was dissolved in September and replaced by a caretaker administration.
The ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement, or SPLM, has been holding primaries across the country. However, there has been little electoral activity among other registered parties, according to Anita Kiki Gbeho, head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. Gbeho told the U.N. Security Council on November 10 that elections must be a milestone in the transition, not its conclusion.
On Thursday, two SPLM delegates were killed in an attack in Miri Loko village, in Western Equatoria state, while returning from party primaries and congresses, officials said. The incident highlights the security challenges facing the electoral process.
Key points
- The elections have been postponed due to insecurity, funding shortages, and readiness concerns.
- The postponement marks another delay in a series of setbacks, including previous delays in 2022 and 2024.
- The elections are crucial for the country's transition, but concerns about fairness, credibility, and peace remain.
