Stephen Dhieu Dau wins SPLM primary in Upper Nile
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Eye Radio
Stephen Dhieu Dau won the SPLM primary with 120 votes to select its candidate for governor of Upper Nile State in the December 2026 elections. He was also declared the party’s regional chairperson, while Gabriel Isaac secured the deputy chairpersonship, according to Eye Radio.
Stephen Dhieu Dau won the SPLM primary, the ruling party in South Sudan, for the post of governor of Upper Nile with 120 votes, becoming the party’s candidate in the December 2026 elections, Eye Radio reports. SPLM Secretary-General Akol Paul Kordit also declared him chairperson of the party’s branch in the state.
Thirteen candidates contested the nomination. Former governor Jacob Dollar received 12 votes, East African Legislative Assembly member Kim Gai received three, and the only female candidate, lawyer Ferida Philip Nyanan, received two. Gabriel Isaac, who came second with 38 votes, was appointed deputy chairperson of the SPLM in Upper Nile.
Stephen Dhieu Dau and Gabriel Isaac were sworn in immediately after the vote. Dhieu Dau previously held the portfolios of Petroleum and Mining, Finance and Planning, and Trade and Investment, and chaired the board of the South Sudan Revenue Authority. The SPLM congress in Upper Nile was supervised in Malakal by a national delegation led by Third Vice-President Simon Kun Puoch and Akol Paul Kordit.
