SOUTH SUDAN TO HOLD ELECTIONS IN DECEMBER AS FIGHTING RAGES ON
— Mary Ene
South Sudan's Information Minister Ateny Wek Ateny has declared that elections will be held in December 2026 with no further delays, even as active fighting between government forces and SPLA-IO-aligned groups continues to rage across Jonglei and Unity states. Analysts warn the elections face cripp…
South Sudan is marching toward its first election since independence in 2011 with a country on the edge of civil war, and the government insists it is staying the course.
Information Minister Ateny Wek Ateny was categorical. "Elections must take place at the end of 2026, with no further extension," he told reporters in Juba. It is the firmest public statement yet from the transitional government, which has missed every previous election deadline stretching back to the 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement. Elections were originally scheduled for 2022, delayed to 2024, then pushed again to December 2026 following domestic and international pressure to end the transitional period.
The problem is that very little on the ground supports the idea that credible elections are possible. The National Elections Commission has received only 4% of its requested budget. No permanent constitution has been drafted. No nationwide census has been conducted. Voter education is absent in large parts of the country. Millions of South Sudanese remain internally displaced or as refugees abroad, including hundreds of thousands uprooted by recent fighting in Jonglei, where violence has displaced over 280,000 people since late 2025.
The security situation continues to deteriorate. Government forces and SPLA-IO-aligned groups are engaged in sustained hostilities across Jonglei and Unity states. By January 2026, ceasefire monitoring mechanisms had recorded a 14% increase in violations and a 43% rise in hostilities involving peace agreement signatories. The UN, African Union and IGAD have repeatedly called for de-escalation. None of those calls have produced results.
Political conditions are equally compromised. First Vice President Riek Machar remains in detention on treason charges. President Kiir has systematically replaced Machar loyalists with figures aligned to the interim SPLM-IO faction led by Peacebuilding Minister Stephen Par Kuol. Civil society leader Ter Manyang put it plainly: "If elections are held without all stakeholders on board, they will not be credible, and the outcome will not be accepted."
December 22, 2026 is the date currently set in law. Whether it produces a legitimate democratic transition or simply a vote conducted amid war with predetermined outcomes will define South Sudan's trajectory for the decade ahead.
SOUTH SUDAN TO HOLD ELECTIONS IN DECEMBER AS FIGHTING RAGES ON