South Sudan’s National Elections Commission set the South Sudan election date at February 11, 2027, moving the general elections from December 22, 2026.
Voters can register until November 28 at 3,161 centres across the country’s 10 states and three administrative areas.
The commission announced the calendar on social media on the day registration opened. Results will follow four days after voting.
Registration lasts 15 days and ends November 28. Officials said not all the equipment the centres need had arrived when registration opened.
The commission gave no reason for the delay
Commission secretary general Ahon Malou Lueth confirmed the change to the French news agency AFP. He did not give a reason or other details.
Candidate nominations run through January. The campaign lasts 45 days and starts December 27. Voting takes place on February 11, 2027.
The legislative and presidential elections had been set for December 22 after several earlier delays.
The UN warned that a vote could trigger conflict
The United Nations had warned that a vote could set off conflict. The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudansaid in October that holding an election could spark renewed conflict.
The commission said recent tensions heighten “the risk of renewed conflict and atrocity crimes”. It has also cited the displacement of tens of thousands of people, battles and the disruption of aid operations.
Kiir’s forces and Machar’s followers have clashed
Government forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and followers of detained former vice president Riek Machar have clashed in recent months. The confrontations have escalated and caused deaths. Ethnic tensions and cattle rustling battles add to the strain.
Machar has been under house arrest since March 2025. He faces accusations of “crimes against humanity”.
Context: independence in 2011, civil war from 2013 to 2018
South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011. Kiir’s and Machar’s forces fought a civil war from 2013 to 2018 that killed at least 400,000 people. For more regional coverage, see Khusoko News.
South Sudan: A Nation Rewriting its History, Curving a New Path for its People
