South Sudan postpones first national elections until February

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir speaks during the launch of a new round of peace talks between the South Sudan government and rebel groups on at the State House in Nairobi on May 9, 2024. [AFP]

South Sudan, the world's newest country, on Saturday postponed its first national elections from December to February amid growing ethnic and political battles.

The legislative and presidential elections had been scheduled for December 22, after already having been delayed several times. The United Nations had warned that a vote could set off widespread conflict.

The electoral commission issued a new calendar on social media, giving a new voting date of February 11, with results to be announced four days later.

Commission secretary general Ahon Malou Lueth confirmed the change to AFP but would not give a reason or other details.

President Salva Kiir's government forces and followers of detained former vice president Riek Machar have been involved in escalating, deadly confrontations in recent months.

Other ethnic tensions and cattle-rustling battles have also complicated the picture in one of the world's poorest countries.

South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011, but Kiir's and Machar's forces fought a civil war from 2013 to 2018 that killed at least 400,000 people.

Machar has been under house arrest since March 2025, accused of "crimes against humanity".

The new election date was announced on the day that voter registration was due to start, with more than 3,100 centres set up across the country. Not all the necessary equipment had arrived at the centres, officials said.

The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has issued several warnings about conditions in the country, including the displacement of tens of thousands of people, the deadly battles and the disruption of international humanitarian operations.

The commission has said that the tensions of recent months heighten "the risk of renewed conflict and atrocity crimes" while in October it said holding an election could spark renewed conflict.