South Sudan further extends political transition, postpones elections until late 2026

2 min

With our correspondent in Juba, Florence Miettaux

Initially scheduled for December 2024, the election will now be held in December 2026. This election, which will be the first in the world’s youngest country, has therefore been postponed again. It had already been postponed by two years in 2022.

The announcement was made on Facebook by the South Sudanese presidency, citing the ” need more time ” to implement ” critical tasks ” of the peace agreement. This agreement, signed in 2018 to end the civil war that began in 2013, provides in particular for the unification of the armed forces, and the drafting of the country’s permanent Constitution.

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The Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Martin Elia Lomuro, justified this postponement by invoking the ” recommendations from both electoral institutions and the security sector “, as well as ” the crucial pending tasks necessary for the smooth running of the elections “.

In fact, the commission overseeing the implementation of the peace agreement notes in its latest report that ” the conditions are not in place for free, fair and credible elections to take place “. The permanent Constitution of the South Sudan is still not drafted and the unified armed forces remain largely inoperative. And there is a lack of funding for holding elections.

Growing distrust

Added to this is the growing distrust of the regime Salva KiirMany Internet users question the legitimacy of the current government, which was never elected and is accused of simply wanting to stay in power. I bet in two years we’ll have another postponement. ” writes a disillusioned Internet user.

Bad will or insurmountable difficulties? This new extension of the transition period demonstrates, once again, how laborious the South Sudanese peace process is.

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