Adv. Basfila Baniso-Loro elected WAAS President after winning 2026 executive election
Juba, South Sudan — Advocate Basfila Baniso-Loro has been declared the newly elected President of the Women Advocates Association of South Sudan (WAAS) after securing the highest number of votes in the association’s 2026 executive election held at a hotel in Juba.
According to the official results announced by the WAAS Electoral Committee on Friday, 31 July 2026, Adv. Basfila Baniso-Loro received 101 valid votes to defeat her two competitors, Adv. Sarah Aol Okun, who obtained 79 votes, and Adv. Amily Salvatore Ladu, who received 2 votes.
The election recorded 199 registered voters, with 184 votes cast. The Electoral Committee confirmed that 182 votes were valid, while 15 voters were absent and two ballots declared invalid.
Declaring the results, WAAS Electoral Committee Chairperson Adv. Jane Lukudu said the election was conducted in line with the association’s constitution and electoral regulations.
“The electoral committee hereby declares the official result of WAAS executive election conducted on 21st July 2026. Following the completion of polling, counting and tallying of votes, the electoral committee certifies the results,” Lukudu announced.
She added that Adv. Basfila Baniso-Loro obtained the highest number of valid votes and was therefore declared elected President of WAAS.
“Having obtained the highest number of valid votes cast, Advocate Basfila Baniso-Loro is hereby declared duly elected as President of the Women Advocates Association,” she said.
The Electoral Committee also declared Bakhita Alfred Obano as Secretary-General and Virginia John as Vice President after both were elected unopposed.
Basfila thanks opponents and calls for unity
In her acceptance speech, Adv. Basfila Baniso-Loro expressed gratitude to God, her supporters, fellow candidates, and the Electoral Committee, while calling for unity among members after a competitive campaign period.
She said she had prepared both a victory and concession speech because she did not expect an easy contest.
“I did not expect that I would win because I knew that I was facing people who were not easy. My colleagues were very good,” Basfila said.
She thanked her fellow contestants, Adv. Amily Salvatore Ladu and Adv. Sarah Aol Okun, for participating in what she described as a challenging election.
“I thank my colleagues who were in the polls with me, who were competing with me, because if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be here now, and I wouldn’t have won,” she said.
The newly elected WAAS President pledged to work with all members to strengthen the association and deliver on the expectations of its membership.
“The elections are over. I hope that all the problems, all the disagreements, and all the bad things that happened during the elections are over tonight, and that we can start a new page,” she said.
Electoral Committee praises peaceful process
Adv. Jane Lokudu commended all candidates for maintaining a peaceful campaign environment and urged members to remain united despite the outcome.
She described the election as fair, transparent, and credible.
“We have endeavored to ensure that the entire process was fair, free, transparent, credible, and impartial, with every vote accurately counted and treated with absolute integrity,” Lokudu said.
She congratulated the elected leaders and encouraged those who were not successful to continue contributing to the association’s growth.
“While elections produce winners, they must never divide us. We remain one united association working towards the same shared vision,” she said.
Bar leadership calls for strengthening women lawyers’ role
During closing remarks, Adv. Khamisa Ibrahim, Chairperson of the Central Committee of the Bar Association, congratulated WAAS members and highlighted the growth of women lawyers in South Sudan.
She encouraged continued cooperation among advocates and called for reforms to strengthen the legal profession.
The WAAS Electoral Committee officially concluded the 2026 election process after issuing certificates to the newly elected leaders.
The new leadership is expected to serve a four-year term, with a focus on advancing women’s leadership in the legal profession and strengthening the association’s services to its members.
