Northern Bahr el Ghazal demands additional days for voter registration

By Ngor Arol Garang

November 8, 2009 (MALAKAL) — The government of Northern Bahr el Ghazal state today demanded provision of additional days for voter registration saying the conduct started four days after the official date.

Voters’ registration for the Sudan’s April 2010 elections began on November 1 all over the country and set to end on November 30.

The exercise started late in this state because election commission office here, instead of organizing a training prior to the conduct of registration, organized three days training to voter registration teams after everybody has started elsewhere in Sudan, said Baak Lual, the official spokesperson and minister of information and communication in the state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal.

He further said that the electoral commission is responsible of the delay suffered in the voter registration process and demand additional days “to compensate days we had lost,” he added..

The minister also added that voter registration is facing myriad of challenges with logistical problems besides limited number of people participating in the voter registration exercise.

“A payam with number of bomas and villages is assigned only three persons, because there are no people participating in the conduct,” baak said.

He further said has thrice visited the two counties of Aweil North and West with plan to visit South and East later this week to find that most of the designated voter registration centers were empty.

The deputy governor was yesterday in Malek Alel, South County, to support voter registration turn out in the county, he adds.

The minister yesterday called on the public, particularly youth, to seriously engage in helping commission and the state authorities in raising awareness and explanation of why it is necessary for individuals to be registered for vote in the forthcoming general elections.

Earlier, Baak said registration is important because it seen as an opportunity for southern Sudan government which rejects the census results to provide figures can support its refusal of census out come

“It is this exercise which will also approve or disprove the figure we contest,” he said, adding the voter registration also will help voters choose their leaders during elections.

(ST)