South Sudan opens voter registration 39 days before elections
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Radio Tamazuj
South Sudan’s electoral commission will open voter registration on Saturday 14 November, 39 days before the 22 December general elections. The exercise, scheduled until 28 November at 3,161 centres, involves 22,127 recruited and trained officials, according to its chair Gabriel Bol Deng.
The National Elections Commission of South Sudan (NEC) will begin voter registration on Saturday 14 November, for 15 days until 28 November. The exercise will cover 3,161 centres in the country’s 10 states and three administrative areas, its chair Gabriel Bol Deng announced on Friday, according to Radio Tamazuj.
The NEC recruited and trained 22,127 registration officials and deployed 204 constituency electoral officers. Materials and equipment have been delivered to state capitals and the headquarters of the administrative areas, and their distribution to the centres is to be completed within two days, Gabriel Bol Deng said. Voters will have to present a passport, national identity card or another acceptable proof of identity and age. Traditional leaders may help identify people without official documents.
The NEC will publish a provisional voters' register after the 15-day registration period to establish the number of eligible voters before the submission of candidacies, according to Gabriel Bol Deng. Presidential candidates will notably have to present at least 10,000 supporters in each state, whose registration data will be verified by the commission.
The exercise is part of preparations for the general elections scheduled for 22 December. The NEC announced on 2 November the delivery of the first voter registration materials, then appointed its regional officials on 4 November. South Sudan’s electoral commission delivers first voter registration materials and appoints its regional officials.
