{ "data": { "id": "south-sudan-general-2026", "country": "SS", "country_name": "South Sudan", "date": "2026-12-22", "date_status": "declared", "kind": "general", "conditional": null, "timezone": "Africa/Juba", "status": "scheduled", "last_verified_at": "2026-09-24T20:30:00Z", "stale": false, "stale_reason": null, "provenance": { "from": "researcher agent 2026-09-24: NEC FAQ and news pages (nec.gov.ss), NEC date announcement of 22 Jun 2026 (Sudans Post, Radio Tamazuj), National Elections Act 2012 ss.45, 107-114, 117-123 (MoJ text), Elections (Amendment) Act 2026 reports (Radio Tamazuj 21 Sep, SSBC 21 Sep, UBC 22 Sep 2026), Al Jazeera 23 Sep 2026, 2010 precedent (UN UNifeed 27 Apr 2010), 2011 referendum hours (Al Jazeera 9 Jan 2011), Wikipedia", "licence": "CC BY 4.0 (Election Index)" }, "url": "https://electionindex.org/election/south-sudan-general-2026", "races": [ { "id": "president", "key": "south-sudan-general-2026/president", "name": "President", "body": "head-of-state", "seats": null, "polls_close_utc": "2026-12-22T15:00:00Z", "authority": { "id": "ss-nec", "name": "National Elections Commission", "name_local": null, "role": "electoral-commission", "homepage": "https://nec.gov.ss/", "results_index": null, "open_data": null }, "status": "scheduled", "expected_stage_now": null, "observed": false, "final_expected": { "from": "2027-01-01T22:00:00Z", "by": "2027-02-17T21:59:59Z", "confidence": "estimate", "basis": "Elections Act 2012: objections to the provisional result \"within seven days of the declaration of provisional results\" (s.111(2)); the NEC decides them in ten days, extendable (s.111(3)), and publishes decisions within three days (s.111(4)); appeal to the Court within seven days, decided within ten days, final (s.112(2)); the NEC declares final results after the appeal period \"within a period not exceeding forty eight hours\" (s.114(1)). That is 9 days after the provisional result if nobody objects, and 39 days if every step runs to its limit (more if the NEC extends s.111(3), or if the Court orders polls re-run in cancelled centres, s.113: up to 60 days, and no final result until then). ESTIMATE: opens 9 days after the earliest plausible provisional result and closes at the late provisional bound plus 39 days, rounded later. These are the 2012 deadlines; the 2023 and Sep 2026 amendments may have changed them (not read). Settle on the NEC's declaration of final results (also gazetted, s.114(3)), not on provisional totals. The Court's appeal ruling (s.112) comes before this declaration, so there is no separate court stage. If nobody passes 50% plus one vote (s.45(1)), the second round is due within 60 days of 22 Dec (s.45(2)), i.e. by 20 Feb 2027, which squeezes this window in practice." }, "stages": [ { "stage": "election-night", "from": "2026-12-22T15:00:00Z", "by": "2027-01-08T21:59:59Z", "replacedAt": null, "confidence": "estimate", "citation": "Polls: closing hour not found. Neither the 2012 Act nor the three NEC regulations online (code of conduct, observers, campaign) set polling hours; the polling regulations are not published. ESTIMATE 17:00 CAT (UTC+2, no DST), from the only in-country precedent: the Jan 2011 Southern Sudan referendum ran 08:00-17:00 local (Al Jazeera, 9 Jan 2011). Elections Act 2012 s.107: presiding officers declare and post each polling station's result right after the count; s.110: the NEC \"shall issue regulations providing for immediate dissemination of provisional results including those aggregated by the Commission\", published in the Official Gazette, the media and at NEC offices. The Act sets no deadline for the aggregated provisional result. ESTIMATE, weak precedent: South Sudan has never held its own election. In the 2010 Sudan elections (polling 11-15 Apr 2010, extended from 13 Apr) the Sudan NEC declared the Southern Sudan presidency on 26-27 Apr 2010, 11-12 days after polls closed (UN UNifeed, 27 Apr 2010; Wikipedia gives 26 Apr for the national results). The window runs to the end of day 17 after polling day, CAT, because of the Christmas/New Year holidays and because voter registration had not started by 24 Sep 2026. NEC provisional results are the count here; polling-station posters are not. They stay on until the final declaration, whose date is unknown, so no replacement time is set.", "source": null, "observedAt": null }, { "stage": "final-result", "from": "2027-01-01T22:00:00Z", "by": "2027-02-17T21:59:59Z", "replacedAt": null, "confidence": "estimate", "citation": "Elections Act 2012: objections to the provisional result \"within seven days of the declaration of provisional results\" (s.111(2)); the NEC decides them in ten days, extendable (s.111(3)), and publishes decisions within three days (s.111(4)); appeal to the Court within seven days, decided within ten days, final (s.112(2)); the NEC declares final results after the appeal period \"within a period not exceeding forty eight hours\" (s.114(1)). That is 9 days after the provisional result if nobody objects, and 39 days if every step runs to its limit (more if the NEC extends s.111(3), or if the Court orders polls re-run in cancelled centres, s.113: up to 60 days, and no final result until then). ESTIMATE: opens 9 days after the earliest plausible provisional result and closes at the late provisional bound plus 39 days, rounded later. These are the 2012 deadlines; the 2023 and Sep 2026 amendments may have changed them (not read). Settle on the NEC's declaration of final results (also gazetted, s.114(3)), not on provisional totals. The Court's appeal ruling (s.112) comes before this declaration, so there is no separate court stage. If nobody passes 50% plus one vote (s.45(1)), the second round is due within 60 days of 22 Dec (s.45(2)), i.e. by 20 Feb 2027, which squeezes this window in practice.", "source": null, "observedAt": null } ], "sources": [ { "url": "https://nec.gov.ss/frequently-asked-questions/", "role": "timetable", "kind": "other", "kindReason": "no election or results marker", "resolvable": false, "origin": "race", "note": "NEC FAQ: under the amended Transitional Constitution and the 2018 Revitalized Agreement, \"elections should be held on 22 December 2026\"; two-round system for President. The NEC publishes no electoral calendar or results page yet (checked nec.gov.ss news, press releases, regulations on 24 Sep 2026).", "check": null }, { "url": "https://www.sudanspost.com/nec-declares-december-22-2026-as-south-sudans-election-date/", "role": "timetable", "kind": "other", "kindReason": "election page without a results marker", "resolvable": false, "origin": "race", "note": "Sudans Post, 22 Jun 2026: NEC chairperson Prof. Abednego Akok Kacuol announces polling on 22 Dec 2026, six months ahead as the Elections Act requires. Same announcement: Radio Tamazuj, 'NEC cites legal gaps as it announces election date', 22 Jun 2026.", "check": null }, { "url": "https://www.radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/mps-pass-election-bill-keeping-kiir-in-office-as-vps-exit", "role": "timetable", "kind": "other", "kindReason": "no election or results marker", "resolvable": false, "origin": "race", "note": "Radio Tamazuj, 21 Sep 2026: the National Elections Act (Amendment) Bill 2026 as passed keeps 22 Dec 2026, sets the National Legislative Assembly at 270 elected members (50% constituencies, 35% women's lists, 15% party lists) plus 66 appointed, and a campaign of at most 45 days.", "check": null }, { "url": "https://mojca.gov.ss/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/National-Elections-Act-39-of-2012.pdf", "role": "calendar", "kind": "other", "kindReason": "election page without a results marker", "resolvable": false, "origin": "race", "note": "National Elections Act 2012 (Act No. 39), Ministry of Justice text: s.45 (two-round presidential system, second round within 60 days of polling), ss.107-114 (count, provisional results, objections, appeals, final results). Amended 2023 and again Sep 2026 (signed 21-22 Sep 2026); neither amendment's text was read (the NEC's 2023 amendment PDF is a 22 MB scan that did not download). The MoJ server needed TLS verification disabled from here.", "check": null }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_South_Sudanese_general_election", "role": "see-also", "kind": "other", "kindReason": "election page without a results marker", "resolvable": false, "origin": "race", "check": null }, { "url": "https://nec.gov.ss/", "role": "authority-home", "kind": "emb_home", "kindReason": "site root: cannot answer a results question", "resolvable": false, "origin": "authority", "check": null } ], "page_activity": [], "government": null, "url": "https://electionindex.org/election/south-sudan-general-2026#president" }, { "id": "assembly", "key": "south-sudan-general-2026/assembly", "name": "National Legislative Assembly", "body": "legislature-lower", "seats": 270, "polls_close_utc": "2026-12-22T15:00:00Z", "authority": { "id": "ss-nec", "name": "National Elections Commission", "name_local": null, "role": "electoral-commission", "homepage": "https://nec.gov.ss/", "results_index": null, "open_data": null }, "status": "scheduled", "expected_stage_now": null, "observed": false, "final_expected": { "from": "2027-01-01T22:00:00Z", "by": "2027-02-28T21:59:59Z", "confidence": "estimate", "basis": "Elections Act 2012: objections to the provisional result \"within seven days of the declaration of provisional results\" (s.111(2)); the NEC decides them in ten days, extendable (s.111(3)), and publishes decisions within three days (s.111(4)); appeal to the Court within seven days, decided within ten days, final (s.112(2)); the NEC declares final results after the appeal period \"within a period not exceeding forty eight hours\" (s.114(1)). That is 9 days after the provisional result if nobody objects, and 39 days if every step runs to its limit (more if the NEC extends s.111(3), or if the Court orders polls re-run in cancelled centres, s.113: up to 60 days, and no final result until then). ESTIMATE: opens 9 days after the earliest plausible provisional result and closes at the late provisional bound plus 39 days, then a further 11 days later than the presidential window because constituency seats are the most exposed to s.113 re-runs in cancelled centres and the list seats (4% threshold, Act s.63) need the national totals. These are the 2012 deadlines; the 2023 and Sep 2026 amendments may have changed them (not read). Settle on the NEC's declaration of final results (also gazetted, s.114(3)), not on provisional totals. The Court's appeal ruling (s.112) comes before this declaration, so there is no separate court stage. Seats: 270 elected members per the Sep 2026 amendment as reported by Radio Tamazuj (21 Sep) and UBC (22 Sep 2026), plus 66 appointed; SSBC (21 Sep 2026) reported 332 members, and the pre-2026 law (per Wikipedia) had 332 incl. 17 appointed. Unverified against the Act's text. The Council of States is not on this ballot: its members are elected by the new state assemblies (Act s.120(1): \"Persons elected to the respective State Assemblies shall be ... eligible to vote in the Council of States elections\"), so it has no race here. Governors, state assemblies and local councils are also on the NEC's list for 22 Dec (NEC FAQ) but are not covered." }, "stages": [ { "stage": "election-night", "from": "2026-12-22T15:00:00Z", "by": "2027-01-08T21:59:59Z", "replacedAt": null, "confidence": "estimate", "citation": "Polls: closing hour not found. Neither the 2012 Act nor the three NEC regulations online (code of conduct, observers, campaign) set polling hours; the polling regulations are not published. ESTIMATE 17:00 CAT (UTC+2, no DST), from the only in-country precedent: the Jan 2011 Southern Sudan referendum ran 08:00-17:00 local (Al Jazeera, 9 Jan 2011). Elections Act 2012 s.107: presiding officers declare and post each polling station's result right after the count; s.110: the NEC \"shall issue regulations providing for immediate dissemination of provisional results including those aggregated by the Commission\", published in the Official Gazette, the media and at NEC offices. The Act sets no deadline for the aggregated provisional result. ESTIMATE, weak precedent: South Sudan has never held its own election. In the 2010 Sudan elections (polling 11-15 Apr 2010, extended from 13 Apr) the Sudan NEC declared the Southern Sudan presidency on 26-27 Apr 2010, 11-12 days after polls closed (UN UNifeed, 27 Apr 2010; Wikipedia gives 26 Apr for the national results). The window runs to the end of day 17 after polling day, CAT, because of the Christmas/New Year holidays and because voter registration had not started by 24 Sep 2026. NEC provisional results are the count here; polling-station posters are not. They stay on until the final declaration, whose date is unknown, so no replacement time is set.", "source": null, "observedAt": null }, { "stage": "final-result", "from": "2027-01-01T22:00:00Z", "by": "2027-02-28T21:59:59Z", "replacedAt": null, "confidence": "estimate", "citation": "Elections Act 2012: objections to the provisional result \"within seven days of the declaration of provisional results\" (s.111(2)); the NEC decides them in ten days, extendable (s.111(3)), and publishes decisions within three days (s.111(4)); appeal to the Court within seven days, decided within ten days, final (s.112(2)); the NEC declares final results after the appeal period \"within a period not exceeding forty eight hours\" (s.114(1)). That is 9 days after the provisional result if nobody objects, and 39 days if every step runs to its limit (more if the NEC extends s.111(3), or if the Court orders polls re-run in cancelled centres, s.113: up to 60 days, and no final result until then). ESTIMATE: opens 9 days after the earliest plausible provisional result and closes at the late provisional bound plus 39 days, then a further 11 days later than the presidential window because constituency seats are the most exposed to s.113 re-runs in cancelled centres and the list seats (4% threshold, Act s.63) need the national totals. These are the 2012 deadlines; the 2023 and Sep 2026 amendments may have changed them (not read). Settle on the NEC's declaration of final results (also gazetted, s.114(3)), not on provisional totals. The Court's appeal ruling (s.112) comes before this declaration, so there is no separate court stage. Seats: 270 elected members per the Sep 2026 amendment as reported by Radio Tamazuj (21 Sep) and UBC (22 Sep 2026), plus 66 appointed; SSBC (21 Sep 2026) reported 332 members, and the pre-2026 law (per Wikipedia) had 332 incl. 17 appointed. Unverified against the Act's text. The Council of States is not on this ballot: its members are elected by the new state assemblies (Act s.120(1): \"Persons elected to the respective State Assemblies shall be ... eligible to vote in the Council of States elections\"), so it has no race here. Governors, state assemblies and local councils are also on the NEC's list for 22 Dec (NEC FAQ) but are not covered.", "source": null, "observedAt": null } ], "sources": [ { "url": "https://nec.gov.ss/frequently-asked-questions/", "role": "timetable", "kind": "other", "kindReason": "no election or results marker", "resolvable": false, "origin": "race", "note": "NEC FAQ: under the amended Transitional Constitution and the 2018 Revitalized Agreement, \"elections should be held on 22 December 2026\"; two-round system for President. The NEC publishes no electoral calendar or results page yet (checked nec.gov.ss news, press releases, regulations on 24 Sep 2026).", "check": null }, { "url": "https://www.sudanspost.com/nec-declares-december-22-2026-as-south-sudans-election-date/", "role": "timetable", "kind": "other", "kindReason": "election page without a results marker", "resolvable": false, "origin": "race", "note": "Sudans Post, 22 Jun 2026: NEC chairperson Prof. Abednego Akok Kacuol announces polling on 22 Dec 2026, six months ahead as the Elections Act requires. Same announcement: Radio Tamazuj, 'NEC cites legal gaps as it announces election date', 22 Jun 2026.", "check": null }, { "url": "https://www.radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/mps-pass-election-bill-keeping-kiir-in-office-as-vps-exit", "role": "timetable", "kind": "other", "kindReason": "no election or results marker", "resolvable": false, "origin": "race", "note": "Radio Tamazuj, 21 Sep 2026: the National Elections Act (Amendment) Bill 2026 as passed keeps 22 Dec 2026, sets the National Legislative Assembly at 270 elected members (50% constituencies, 35% women's lists, 15% party lists) plus 66 appointed, and a campaign of at most 45 days.", "check": null }, { "url": "https://mojca.gov.ss/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/National-Elections-Act-39-of-2012.pdf", "role": "calendar", "kind": "other", "kindReason": "election page without a results marker", "resolvable": false, "origin": "race", "note": "National Elections Act 2012 (Act No. 39), Ministry of Justice text: s.45 (two-round presidential system, second round within 60 days of polling), ss.107-114 (count, provisional results, objections, appeals, final results). Amended 2023 and again Sep 2026 (signed 21-22 Sep 2026); neither amendment's text was read (the NEC's 2023 amendment PDF is a 22 MB scan that did not download). The MoJ server needed TLS verification disabled from here.", "check": null }, { "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_South_Sudanese_general_election", "role": "see-also", "kind": "other", "kindReason": "election page without a results marker", "resolvable": false, "origin": "race", "check": null }, { "url": "https://nec.gov.ss/", "role": "authority-home", "kind": "emb_home", "kindReason": "site root: cannot answer a results question", "resolvable": false, "origin": "authority", "check": null } ], "page_activity": [], "government": null, "url": "https://electionindex.org/election/south-sudan-general-2026#assembly" } ] }, "meta": { "dataset_version": "2026-09-24.4702fd43", "built_at": "2026-09-24T22:42:10Z", "generated_at": "2026-09-24T22:56:20.395Z", "licence": "CC BY 4.0: credit \"Election Index (electionindex.org)\" and link to https://electionindex.org", "docs": "https://electionindex.org/docs" } }