Presidency announces that South Sudan has delayed its long-awaited election by two years

The presidency announced on Friday that the government of South Sudan has chosen to delay the long-awaited national election until December 2026. This decision highlights the difficulties that the country’s delicate peace process is currently confronting.

“The presidency, led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit, has declared a two-year extension of the country’s transitional timeline and a postponement of the elections, originally planned for December 2024 to December 22nd, 2026,” stated Kiir’s office on Facebook.

South Sudan has achieved formal peace following a 2018 agreement that brought an end to a five-year battle that resulted in hundreds of thousands of fatalities. However, incidents of violence between competing groups still occur regularly.

Prior to Friday’s declaration, the intention was to select leaders who would take over from the existing transitional government, which comprises Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar, whose different factions were in conflict during the civil war.

“It is necessary to allocate more time to undertake crucial tasks prior to the elections,” stated Kiir’s administration.