South Sudan has been undergoing this endless circle of election postponement.
The world’s newest country was to go to election next month (December 2024) but this has now been postponed to December 2026.
Since becoming independent in 2011, South Sudan has never held any election. Under the 2015 peace agreement, the country was to hold elections within 60 days but this was disrupted when Riek Machar almost overthrew President Salva Kiir Mayardit.
The 2018 new peace agreement,(R-ARCSS) that was reached following the civil war, also provided for an election 60 days before the end of the transitional period, but this never happened. Instead in August 2022, the parties agreed to postpone the election to December 2024 which again has been postponed to December 2026.
In my opinion these postponements are just tactics by the political elite to stay in power and to buy time to consolidate their positions.
With one president, 5 vice-presidents, over 40 ministers and over 600 parliamentarians , South Sudan is perhaps one of the countries in the world with the highest number of unelected leaders. Who are they representing if they don’t have a direct mandate from the people? Their own interests.
That’s why they are hiding behind peace to delay the election. They know very well that if they were to call for an election now, citizens of South Sudan would kick them out of those plum jobs.
It is something very common in newly independent countries. Kenyatta only ordered for an election after killing KADU and immediately after banning KPU. This gave him the opportunity to vie against himself. He chose those who were to vie and those who were to be banned from vying
