About this election
South Sudan is scheduled to hold its first-ever general election on 22 December 2026, a landmark vote the world's youngest country has never managed to hold since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011. In June 2026 the National Elections Commission set the date, but the milestone is deeply contested: the election has already been postponed five times, the main opposition has rejected the timetable as premature, and election officials themselves have warned of legal, financial and logistical gaps. This page explains South Sudan's institutions, the conflict and peace process that have shaped them, and what a credible vote would require.
South Sudan became independent in July 2011 after an overwhelming referendum, but descended into civil war in December 2013, when a political split between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar escalated into a conflict drawn largely along ethnic lines between the Dinka and Nuer communities. The war killed an estimated 400,000 people and displaced millions before a peace agreement was signed in 2018. Elections planned for 2015 were overtaken by the war, and successive transitional deadlines in 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2026 were missed as the parties failed to complete the tasks — a permanent constitution, a census, the unification of armed forces and the registration of voters and parties — that the peace deal made preconditions for a vote.
South Sudan is governed by a Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity, formed under the 2018 Revitalised Agreement, in which Salva Kiir serves as president and Riek Machar held the post of First Vice-President at the head of a power-sharing cabinet drawn from the former warring parties. The arrangement has been fragile throughout, and renewed tensions in 2025 — including the detention of senior opposition figures — strained the agreement and raised fears of a return to conflict, casting doubt over whether conditions for a peaceful election can be met.
Under the transitional constitution and electoral law, South Sudan is to elect a president and a national legislature, with a mix of geographic constituencies and proportional and reserved seats (including quotas for women). The dominant force is President Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), with Machar's SPLM-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) and a range of other parties and former rebel groups also contesting. Because the country has never run a general election, almost every element — the voter roll, constituency boundaries, the security of polling, and the independence of the electoral commission and courts — is being built or tested for the first time.
The decisive questions are whether the security and political conditions allow a vote at all, whether the permanent constitution and a credible voter register are completed in time, whether the opposition participates or boycotts, and whether the parties and their armed forces accept the result. International and regional actors — the United Nations, the African Union, the regional bloc IGAD and neighbouring states — will weigh heavily on the credibility and timing. Given the record of repeated postponements, the December 2026 date should be treated as provisional until it is clearly confirmed and the conditions for a peaceful vote are in place.
Any election will take place against one of the world's gravest humanitarian situations. Years of conflict, recurrent flooding, economic collapse driven by disruptions to oil exports, and the spillover of war in neighbouring Sudan have left much of the population facing acute food insecurity and millions displaced inside the country or as refugees. Restoring basic services, securing the movement of people and materials, and protecting civilians are preconditions not only for an election but for daily life.
South Sudan's politics is heavily shaped by ethnic and regional identity, with the SPLM strongest among the Dinka of the wider Bahr el Ghazal and Warrap areas, the SPLM-IO drawing on Nuer support in the Greater Upper Nile region, and the Equatoria region in the south hosting a range of other parties and grievances. ElectioMap will map results across the country's states and regions as official figures are released, if the election proceeds.
If and when voting takes place, this page will publish the live presidential and legislative results, with a regional map, as figures are released by the National Elections Commission. Until then it serves as a reference on the transition and the planned first election.
The National Elections Commission has set 22 December 2026 for South Sudan's first-ever general election since independence in 2011. The date is contested: the election has already been postponed five times and the main opposition has rejected the current timetable as premature.
Independence in 2011 was followed by civil war from 2013 to 2018, which killed an estimated 400,000 people. Planned elections were repeatedly delayed because the tasks set by the 2018 peace deal — a permanent constitution, a census, unifying the armed forces and registering voters — were not completed.
A Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity, with Salva Kiir as president and, under the 2018 agreement, Riek Machar as First Vice-President. Renewed tensions in 2025 strained the power-sharing deal and raised fears for the peace process.
A president and a national legislature, using a mix of constituencies and proportional and reserved seats. President Kiir's SPLM is the dominant party, with Machar's SPLM-IO and others contesting. Every part of the process is being run for the first time.
That depends on security, the completion of a permanent constitution and a credible voter register, opposition participation, and whether the parties accept the result. Given the record of delays, the December 2026 date should be treated as provisional.
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.