Elections in South Sudan

The legal framework includes the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan, the National Elections Act as amended in 2023, the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), the 2022 Roadmap and the Political Parties Act. The current transition arrangement is scheduled to continue until February 2027 under the R-ARCSS. The announced election date is therefore a major constitutional and political milestone, but the National Elections Commission (NEC) has not cancelled or moved it in the available information as of 12 September 2026. The NEC is an administratively and financially independent body with nine commissioners. It sets the election calendar, regulates elections and referendums, defines constituencies, manages continuous voter registration, provides civic and voter education, accredits candidates, party agents, observers and media representatives, trains election staff, organizes voting, counts and tallies ballots, declares results and handles electoral complaints within its legal authority. State High Elections Committees (SHECs), each with five members, support election administration in every state and Administrative Area. South Sudanese elections include the president, the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), governors, State Legislative Assemblies, the Council of States, Chief Administrators, Administrative Area Legislative Councils, County Commissioners, city mayors and urban or rural councils. The president is elected through a two-round system: a candidate needs more than half of the valid vote to win in the first round, otherwise a second round is held. The NLA has 332 seats: 50% are elected in geographic constituencies by first-past-the-post voting, 15% through closed party lists using proportional representation and 35% through a closed party list reserved for women. State legislative elections use a similar mixed system, while lower-level elections follow the Local Government Act. The national constituency map currently uses 102 constituencies based on the 2010 constituencies, following an R-ARCSS decision of 10 December 2025. It covers 10 states and 3 Administrative Areas. The allocation is 14 constituencies in Central Equatoria, 11 in Eastern Equatoria, 8 in Western Equatoria, 17 in Jonglei including Greater Pibor, 7 in Unity including Ruweng, 12 in Upper Nile, 8 in Lakes, 9 in Northern Bahr El Ghazal, 4 in Western Bahr El Ghazal and 12 in Warrap including Abyei. A voter must be a South Sudanese citizen and at least 18 years old on polling day. Women may vote and stand as candidates. The NEC must provide non-discriminatory participation and secret voting. As of 12 September 2026, voter registration had not started, the electoral register was not available and no reliable registration totals had been published. Once registration opens, the available rules describe personal, manual registration on paper. The information is then entered into a computer system, while the original register remains permanently at the relevant State Office. Each SHEC manages registration within its state or Administrative Area, with centres and dates to be announced through NEC notices, its website, social media and national newspapers. No voter registration fee is evidenced. The NEC, SHECs, civil society organizations and media conduct civic and voter education, including radio outreach. The 2026 programmes explicitly address women, young people and people with disabilities. Technical support has involved the United Nations Integrated Electoral Assistance Team, UNMISS, UNDP and BRIDGE training delivered in 2024 and 2025. Institutional financing remains limited, and preparation also depends on security planning, legal clarity and implementation of the R-ARCSS. Voting uses a secret ballot and the principle of one person, one vote. The available research does not establish detailed polling-day procedures, ballot design, assistance rules, accessibility arrangements, voting by internally displaced people or voting from abroad. It also does not establish postal or overseas voting. Those details should not be assumed from the existence of the national electoral system. The NEC sets the campaign period by public notice. Campaign silence begins 24 hours before polling day, from 00:00 until polls close. Calls for violence, hate speech and discriminatory campaign material based on gender, race, tribe, national or ethnic origin, religion, disability, social status, education, age or sexual orientation are prohibited under the cited campaign rules. Candidates and parties may not use state or Administrative Area resources for campaigning, although public media are treated separately. The Political Parties Council registers parties, supervises their operation and compliance, supports affirmative action and handles intra-party and inter-party disputes. Detailed candidate-registration requirements, nomination fees, documents and deadlines have not been established in the reviewed sources. After voting, election officials sort, count and tally ballots before declaring results. A political party, coalition, independent candidate, civil society organization or registered voter may submit a written and reasoned complaint before final result declaration. For presidential and NLA elections, the NEC should decide a complaint within at least five calendar days; for state and lower-level elections, the SHEC or Returning Officer applies the corresponding period. A complainant may appeal to the competent court within five days after receiving the decision. Election petitions and disputes over results belong to the courts rather than the NEC. The complete local court hierarchy is not established in the available research.