South Sudan has postponed its long-delayed general election by nearly two months, rescheduling the vote for February 11, 2027, instead of December 22, 2026, according to a revised electoral timetable issued by the country’s National Elections Commission.
The updated schedule, released by the electoral commission, sets November 14 as the start of manual voter registration, which will run until November 28. The registration process will be followed by the publication and public display of the preliminary voters’ register.
The commission has scheduled the submission of candidate nomination applications for December 14-20, with the final list of candidates expected to be published between January 18 and 21, 2027.
The official election campaign is due to begin on December 27 and continue for 45 days, ending on February 9, 2027. February 10 has been designated as the campaign silence day, ahead of polling on February 11.
The final election results are scheduled to be announced on February 17, according to the revised timetable.
The latest postponement comes as South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, prepares for its first general election since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011.
The vote has been repeatedly delayed amid persistent political and security challenges, disagreements over the implementation of the 2018 Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), and continued disputes over key transitional arrangements.
The election is considered a critical milestone in South Sudan’s political transition, with its outcome expected to test the country’s progress towards establishing permanent democratic institutions after years of conflict and political instability.
