South Sudan, the world's newest country, has postponed its first national elections from December to February amid growing ethnic and political battles. The legislative and presidential elections had been scheduled for 22 December, after already being delayed several times. The electoral commission issued a new calendar on social media, setting a new voting date of 11 February, with results to be announced four days later.

Commission secretary general Ahon Malou Lueth confirmed the change to the French news agency AFP but did not give a reason or other details. The announcement came on the day voter registration was due to start, with more than 3,100 centres set up across the country, although officials said not all the necessary equipment had arrived at the centres.S2

The postponement comes as 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".S2

The United Nations had warned that a vote could set off widespread conflict. 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 the tensions of recent months heighten "the risk of renewed conflict and atrocity crimes", and in October it said holding an election could spark renewed conflict.S1S2