South Sudan’s National Election Commission has set December 22, 2026, as the date for the country’s long-delayed general elections, a major step toward holding the first national vote since independence.
NEC Chairperson Abednego Akok Kacuol announced the date on Monday in Juba, saying it was in line with the National Elections Act and the extended transitional period under the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, known as the R-ARCSS.
“The election will be conducted on December 22, 2026, as detailed in the National Election Commission Act and the revitalized peace agreement’s extension to that date,” Akok told journalists.
He said the commission is required to determine and announce the election date in accordance with the constitution, publish it in the official gazette, in newspapers with national circulation, on the NEC website and through mass media.
South Sudan’s transitional government extended the country’s transitional period in December 2024 for another two years, pushing the timeline from December 22, 2024, to December 22, 2026.
Akok said NEC commissioners had been deliberating on the electoral process under the 2018 peace agreement and the National Elections Act of 2012, amended in 2023.
However, he warned that major obstacles remain, including legal gaps and the need for urgent government support.
“There are many challenges facing the commission, and we strongly request the government to speed up the amendment of existing legal gaps and provide all the basic needs within a short period to enable us to proceed with our duties and responsibilities over the next few months,” he said.
He added that voting remains the only constitutional route to political power.
“The public is to be informed that exercising its sovereignty through voting in elections is the only way of gaining political power,” Akok said. “There are legal contradictions which should be amended. The law must be amended.”
The NEC is expected to begin nationwide voter registration soon, with Akok saying the process should take no more than one month.
“After this declaration, we are now to embark on a realistic electoral timeline. We shall let you know within the next few days; it will be out before the end of this month,” he said.
Akok also said an election security body had already been formed and that its members had received training ahead of the vote.
South Sudan has never held national elections since gaining independence in 2011. The country fell into civil war in December 2013 after a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his then-deputy Riek Machar split the army and triggered fighting between rival forces.
The conflict killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions before the 2018 peace agreement established a power-sharing government, though implementation has repeatedly been delayed.
