South Sudan has pushed back its first-ever presidential and parliamentary elections until February 11, the latest in a string of delays to a vote the country has long sought. The election commission announced the change on Saturday, moving the polls from December 22 of this year. It gave no reason for the decision.
The country, the youngest in the world, is still struggling with violence despite a 2018 peace deal that ended five years of civil war. The vote has been postponed at least three times since 2022 was set as its election year, amid deepening ethnic and political tensions.
Dissolved government raises power-sharing concerns
In September, President Salva Kiir dissolved the transitional unity government and installed a caretaker administration. The move allowed the country to head toward elections without first finishing a permanent constitution or census, two steps previously linked to the transition.
Analysts and watchdogs warned, however, that the change had dismantled a key power-sharing arrangement. They said it concentrated power in Kiir’s hands and raised the risk of widespread conflict returning.
Yasmin Sooka, chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, said in October: “This amounts to a constitutional coup through legislative reforms.” She added that “whether elections take place or not, South Sudan will still need an inclusive political settlement, protection for civilians and institutions capable of preventing further violence.”
Deadly clashes and ethnic disputes continue
Government forces and supporters of detained former Vice President Riek Machar have been locked in escalating, deadly confrontations in recent months. Cattle-raiding battles and other ethnic disputes have further complicated the situation in one of the world’s poorest countries.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, but a civil war between Kiir’s and Machar’s forces from 2013 to 2018 killed at least 400,000 people. Machar has been under house arrest since last March and is accused of crimes against humanity.
New timetable sets registration and campaign dates
Under the revised schedule, voter registration will open on Saturday, November 14 and run until November 28. A 45-day campaign period will follow from December 27 to February 9, then a one-day silence period before the February 11 poll.
Gabriel Bol Deng, chairman of the National Elections Commission, said 3,161 registration centres have been set up nationwide and more than 22,000 staff recruited for the operation. The World Bank estimates that about 90 percent of the country’s 15 million people lack state-recognised identification, which complicates registration.
Deng said community leaders would identify such people, particularly in rural areas, and issue them an “identification form” that will allow them to vote.
