South Sudan postpones first national elections to February 2027

South Sudan has again postponed its first national elections since independence in 2011, moving polling from December to February amid concerns about insecurity, funding shortages and the country’s readiness to vote.

Revised election timetable

A revised timetable published by the National Election Commission sets Feb. 11, 2027, as polling day, replacing Dec. 22. The document did not give a reason for the postponement. The commission published the timetable on social media on the day voter registration was scheduled to begin. It also sets dates for candidate nominations and campaigning.

Political and security context

South Sudan became independent 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.

Fighting between government and opposition forces escalated in early 2025, and Machar was placed under house arrest in Juba that March. He 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.

Reactions and warnings

The South Sudan Civil Society Forum said in a statement issued in late October that conditions did not support fair, credible, peaceful and inclusive elections within the remaining time. It called for an inclusive dialogue on electoral preparations and the country’s transition.

Anita Kiki Gbeho, head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, told the U.N. Security Council on Nov. 10: "Elections must be a milestone in the transition, not its conclusion. Elections cannot substitute for political dialogue, confidence-building and continued implementation of the Peace Agreement."

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. It was the third security incident affecting the party’s primaries and congresses in the state, according to Deng Dau Deng, who chairs the SPLM’s high-level committee there.

One of those killed was Veronica Lucy Gordon, a former South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation journalist who had recently been nominated to contest a women’s seat in the National Legislative Assembly.

Edmund Yakani, director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, condemned the attack, urging those opposed to the delegates’ political views to pursue dialogue rather than violence. Following news of the postponement, Yakani called for transparency in the commission’s decisions. He also said the locations of registration centers remained unpublished on the day registration was scheduled to begin, leaving citizens without clear information about where to register.

Why it matters

The postponement leaves South Sudan without an elected national government more than 15 years after independence. The delay comes as the country faces escalating armed confrontations, a detained opposition leader on trial, and warnings from the United Nations that a vote could spark renewed conflict in one of the world’s poorest countries.

---

Sources

• thestar.com: South Sudan postpones first national elections again, to February 2027
• mdjonline.com: South Sudan postpones first national elections again, to February 2027 | National News | mdjonline.com
• henryherald.com: South Sudan postpones first national elections again, to February 2027 | World & Nation | henryherald.com
• rfi.fr: South Sudan postpones first national elections until February - RFI
• apnews.com: South Sudan delays first national elections again, setting February vote | AP News
• dawan.africa: South Sudan Postpones First Post-Independence Elections to February 2027 | Dawan Africa | Dawan Africa

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.