South Sudan has postponed its national elections to February 11, 2027, according to a timetable issued by the country’s National Elections Commission, in another delay to its first election since independence in 2011.
Presidential and parliamentary elections were scheduled for December 22.
“This is the timeline we have come up with after a thorough consultation with the stakeholders,” Josephine Achiro Fortelo, commissioner of the National Elections Commission and its spokesperson, told Reuters on Saturday, confirming the new elections date.
In a statement, the commission said the postponement was intended to provide additional time for necessary preparations for the elections.
The ongoing electoral preparations include the distribution and deployment of voter registration materials, establishment of registration centres, voter registration and logistical arrangements, the commission said.
South Sudan has been formally at peace since a 2018 deal ended a five-year conflict responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, but violence between rival communities flares frequently.
In September, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said the country lacked safeguards and conditions for peaceful and credible elections.