South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has replaced the head of the National Elections Commission (NEC), about three months before the country’s first national elections since independence in 2011.
In an announcement read out by the state-owned broadcaster on Tuesday, President Kiir appointed the commission’s Secretary General, Gabriel Bol Deng, to replace Abednego Akok Kacuol. No reason was given for the change.
Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for 22 December 2026.
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South Sudan has remained under a transitional arrangement since a 2018 peace agreement ended a five-year conflict in which thousands of people were killed, although inter-communal violence has continued.
Last week, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said safeguards and conditions for peaceful and credible elections were missing.
“South Sudanese do have a right to vote; that right must be protected by ensuring they can participate freely, compete fairly, and resolve any electoral disputes through credible adjudication,” one of the UN commissioners, Barney Afako, said in a statement.
Reuters
