South Sudan risks postponing its planned December 2026 general elections for a fifth time due to a lack of political will and insufficient funding, a domestic observer group said in a report released Wednesday.
The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) said in its pre-election assessment that the country’s leaders have repeatedly failed to allocate adequate resources to the electoral process, instead prioritizing spending on military operations.
According to the report, the National Elections Commission has received only 4% of its requested budget. Without significant funding by the end of April, the chances of holding elections in December are “slim,” the group said.
“The time for preparation of the South Sudan elections scheduled for December 2026 is getting closer without any concrete steps for creating a conducive environment for holding peaceful, credible and fair elections,” the report said.
CEPO identified three main factors undermining the electoral process: delays in funding for the elections commission, ongoing military confrontations between government forces and opposition groups, and political maneuvering that has deepened divisions among parties to the 2018 peace agreement.
A key deadline of June 22, 2026, for finalizing voter registration lists is approaching quickly, and observers doubt it will be met.
The report blamed the Ministry of Finance and what it described as “influential leaders around the president” for any failure to hold elections as scheduled, despite public assurances by President Salva Kiir that the vote will proceed.
Kiir has recently formed several committees, including a high-level dialogue committee on elections in January and an inter-party dialogue committee in March, in what the government says is an effort to build consensus.
However, CEPO said the moves could be used to justify extending the current transitional period.
“The continuous government pronouncements about elections are not genuine but rather a strategy to manage pressure from the public, regional and international actors,” the report said.
South Sudan has not held national elections since gaining independence in 2011. The current transitional period was created under the 2018 peace agreement that ended a five-year civil war.
The African Union’s Peace and Security Council has urged the country’s leaders to adhere to the electoral timeline, but observers say political commitment among key actors remains weak.
“South Sudan is likely to fail to hold the scheduled December 2026 elections due to a lack of political commitment, honesty and seriousness,” the report concluded.