The Presidency of South Sudan has announced a two-year postponement of elections, extending the transitional phase that was originally agreed upon under the peace agreement. According to a statement from the Office of the Presidency, the transitional period has been extended by two additional years, and the elections, which were initially scheduled for December 2024, will now take place on Dec. 22, 2026. The statement said that the extension came in response to recommendations from electoral institutions and the security sector. Earlier this year, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the parties in South Sudan to take urgent steps to allow for the holding of elections. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan also warned of a lack of the technical, legal, and operational expertise necessary to conduct the elections in December. In 2018, following the end of the five-year civil war in South Sudan that claimed the lives of at least 380,000 people, President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar formed a transitional government. They agreed to unite efforts under a single army to protect the population from conflicts and climate disasters. (QNA) Source: Qatar News Agency