South Sudan 2026: what the polls say a year out
South Sudan has scheduled its first general election since independence in 2011 for 22 December 2026, after two postponements, in 2022 and 2024. The National Elections Commission set the date on 22 June 2026, but in early November voter registration had not yet begun and civil society (CEPO) warns that preparations are behind the legal timetable and underfunded. The SPLM named President Salva Kiir, in power since independence, as its sole presidential candidate. The main opposition leader, First Vice President Riek Machar (SPLM-IO), has been under house arrest since March 2025 and on trial since September 2025 for treason, murder and crimes against humanity.
A year out, a poll measures voters' mood and how well known each name is, not the vote. That is why this page has no average and no chance of winning: each poll is shown with its dates, its method and its pollster's track record.
Likely candidates: Salva Kiir Mayardit (SPLM, likely); other names floated: 1
Government approval
No approval poll with published methodology.
Vote polls
No poll with published methodology has measured the vote yet.
Only recent polls with published fieldwork and sample, from independent pollsters, are included; for each pollster the latest wave counts, and the previous one shows the trend. Polls commissioned by a party, campaign or government, or run by a pollster whose owner or director is tied to a party, are excluded.
Sources: each poll links to the original publication (the pollster's name is the link). Past results: each country's electoral body, or press reproducing the official tally. Compiled on Nov 8, 2026.