Prominent African politician attending a formal ceremony with military personnel present.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has replaced the head of the country’s election commission with its secretary general. The change comes roughly three months before elections scheduled for December 22, and no reason was given for the decision. The election will be the country’s first national vote since independence in 2011 and comes against a backdrop of continuing security and political challenges. The timing of the electoral leadership change is particularly significant because the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan recently warned that necessary safeguards and conditions for peaceful and credible elections were not yet in place. South Sudan has maintained relative peace since a 2018 agreement ended a five-year civil conflict, though intercommunal violence continues to occur periodically across the country.