South Sudan’s National Election, Its First, Will Be Delayed

Analysts had warned that the vote, originally set for December, faced a legitimacy crisis. South Sudan has not held a national election since gaining independence in 2011. Officials in South Sudan, the world’s youngest state, said on Saturday that its first national election would be postponed, raising new questions about a vote that analysts had already said could not yield a credible result. The National Elections Commission said in a statement that the presidential and legislative elections, which had been scheduled for Dec.

22, would be held on Feb. 11 instead. The country’s information minister, Ateny Wek Ateny, said the postponement would allow more time to register voters and educate them about the process. South Sudan has never held a national election.

Since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of war, it has been ruled by President Salva Kiir, and it has faced seemingly intractable political difficulties. In 2013, civil war broke out between the government and forces loyal to the main opposition leader, Riek Machar.