In a communique, the NEC underscored the importance of addressing legal, technical, and operational hurdles through urgent political decisions

By Emmanuel Mandella

The National Elections Commission (NEC) has mapped out a seven-step roadmap aimed at ensuring credible, transparent, and timely elections in South Sudan by December 2026. The resolutions were adopted at the conclusion of a three-day retreat in Entebbe, Uganda, on December 5, attended by key NEC officials and board members.

In a communique, the NEC underscored the importance of addressing legal, technical, and operational hurdles through urgent political decisions.

“The meeting focused on challenges and possible solutions related to the electoral legal framework, electoral timelines, and preparations for elections to enable decision-making that will lead South Sudan to credible, transparent, inclusive, and peaceful elections,” the statement read in part.

The retreat culminated in a 14-point resolution, with seven major priorities emerging as critical for the electoral process. These include: Developing a realistic electoral timeline, electoral legal framework reforms, nationwide voter registration, and boundary delimitation.

Advocacy and stakeholder engagement, institutional strengthening and codes of conduct were other key areas highlighted as priority by the Commission.

NEC Chairperson, Professor Abednego Akok Kacuol Tong emphasized the necessity of swift political action to align with the commission’s operational timelines. “Critical decisions on legal reforms, voter registration, and boundary delimitation must be taken early in 2025 to avoid delays and ensure the electoral process remains on track,” he stated.

Deputy Chairperson Gabriel Deng highlighted the importance of financial backing. “We need realistic implementation plans, supported by adequate funding, to enable NEC to function effectively across the country. Without this, achieving credible elections will be a challenge,” he warned.

As part of its transparency efforts, NEC adopted three regulations to ensure accountability and ethical conduct throughout the election process:

These include: Regulation 1/2024, a code of conduct for NEC officers and employees; Regulation 2/2024, which will issue guidelines for observers, media representatives, agents, and special guests, and; Regulation 3/2024: establishing the rules for political parties and candidates during election campaigns.

NEC’s Chief Electoral Officer, Mac Maika Deng, emphasized the need for inclusivity and nationwide participation. “Our goal is to ensure that every eligible South Sudanese can participate in a process that is transparent, peaceful, and reflective of the people’s will,” he said.

With just two years remaining until the scheduled elections, NEC’s resolutions mark a significant step toward realizing South Sudan’s democratic aspirations. However, the implementation of these measures hinges on the cooperation of political leaders, the availability of resources, and the active participation of citizens.

With the presidency having postponed the elections to December 2026, various stakeholders have pilled pressure and challenged the country’s leadership to commit to conducting the polls as stipulated.

Affirming his position at the recent Governors’ Forum in Juba last week, President Salva Kiir stated his commitment to the general election in December 2026.

In his address, Kiir also pointed to the importance of concluding the Tumaini peace negotiations, underlining that talks with hold-out groups do not seek to replace the existing Revitalized Peace Agreement.

“Our collective vision, we the signatories to the 2018 peace agreement, is to bridge the gap, to understand the reservations of the hold-out groups, accommodate these reservations within the existing agreement so that the Tumaini Initiative becomes part of the existing agreement”, he said.

‘It makes sense to say, any agreement to replace the existing one will defeat the principle of inclusivity and will certainly lead to a cycle of conflict”, he added.

However, the move to delay the election has since created discontent from various international bodies, especially the UN. Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, Nicholas Hysom, speaking at the same forum, expressed disappointment at the move to delay South Sudan’s elections, labeling the decision “regrettable but inevitable”, due to a lack of progress on key deliverables in the agreement. The UNMISS head said what is needed now is a clear, realistic, harmonised work plan for the next two years.

Meanwhile, as the president gave the assurance, and the Electoral Commission prepares for the elections in two years, key issues remain pending.

The National Constitutional Review Commission (NCRC), the body mandated with developing the country’s constitution, last week expressed fears of another extension of the transitional period, should the government fail to provide timely funding for the constitution-making process. As NEC draws its priority resolutions for the conduct of a credible elections in December 2026, the body has urged for political goodwill to enable implementation.