South Sudan delayed its inaugural national elections until February next year. The election commission announced on Saturday that the polls would take place on February 11, moving the date back from December 22.
The commission did not provide any reason for the decision. The world’s youngest country has postponed the vote at least three times since initially setting 2022 as its election year.
President Salva Kiir dissolved the transitional unity government in September and appointed a caretaker administration. That step allowed the country to move towards elections without first completing a permanent constitution or census.
Those two processes were previously tied to the transition. Analysts and watchdogs warned that the move dismantled a key power sharing arrangement and consolidated power in Kiir’s hands.
Critics said the measure raised the risk of renewed widespread conflict. Yasmin Sooka, chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, described the move as a constitutional coup through legislative reforms in October.
She added that whether elections take place or not, South Sudan will still need an inclusive political settlement, protection for civilians and institutions capable of preventing further violence. Government forces loyal to Kiir and followers of detained former Vice President Riek Machar have engaged in escalating deadly confrontations in recent months.
Other ethnic tensions and cattle rustling battles have also complicated the picture in the impoverished nation. South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011, but a civil war between Kiir and Machar forces from 2013 to 2018 killed at least 400,000 people. Machar has been under house arrest since last March, accused of crimes against humanity.
Under the revised election timetable, voter registration is scheduled to begin on Saturday, November 14 and run until November 28. A 45 day election campaign period will follow from December 27 to February 9, ending with a one day silence period before the February 11 poll.
Gabriel Bol Deng, chairman of the National Elections Commission, said 3,161 registration centres have been established across the country. More than 22,000 staff have been recruited for the operation.
According to the World Bank, about 90 percent of South Sudan’s 15 million inhabitants have no state recognised identification. Deng said such people, particularly in rural areas, will be identified by community leaders and issued an identification form enabling them to vote.
