Northern Bahr el Ghazal receives referendum registration materials
By Ngor Arol Garang
November 1, 2010 (JUBA) – Authorities in the southern state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal on Monday said it had received registration materials ahead of the south’s referendum on independence in January amid logistical hurdles.
The much delayed registration process for the self determination vote is scheduled to run from November 15 – December 1. South Sudan is widely expected to opt to secede from the north in the referendum.
Speaking from Aweil town, capital of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Wol Kuot, chairman of the South Sudan High Executive Committee in the state confirmed the receipt of some of the registration materials.
“Yes, we have received some of the registration materials today from Juba. This is an encouraging steps and it show commitment of the two parties to conduct referendum,” said Kuot.
He said the delivery of the registration materials followed an inspection visit by one of the Juba-based five-member referendum bureau.
“We received these materials today after receiving a member of south Sudan referendum bureau yesterday. Dr. Achier Deng Akol was here yesterday and we discussed a lot of issues with him including the need to speed selection and appointment of support staff members,” said Kuot.
The official said they had discussed number of issues of which air transport to flooded areas in the state dominated the discussions.
He said most of the areas in the state are not accessible by road because of water.
“There are a lot of places which are currently not accessible by road. In Aweil South for example,” he said, “you can only drive from Aweil town to Malek Alel and no more.”
“You cannot go to Ayai, Wanthmuok, Tiaraliet, Kongder and other villages in Aweil south by road. They are not accessible by road. They are flooded and can only be selectively accessed by air transport,” said Kuot.
Air transportation will be used in areas, which have airstrips, he said. But Kuot also has concerns other road transport.
“We do not have vehicles for coordination. We are only hiring two vehicles now. These two are not even enough,” he said.
Chan Reec Madut, Deputy Chairman of the South Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC), told the press on Monday in Juba that the commission has started distributing registration materials to all ten states of South Sudan.
“We have received most of the registration materials and are being sent to all ten states of south. The distributed started last week and it is still in progress,” said Madut.
On October 30, the international community handed over voter registration kits, registration training books and other materials to Sudanese referendum authorities in Juba and Khartoum.
The UN Integrated Referendum and Electoral Division (UNIRED) and International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) handed over some 3,700 registration books and 3,800 training kits to the SSRC in Khartoum for registration in northern states.
UNIRED and IFES also handed over some 3,160 registration kits to the Juba-based Southern Sudan Referendum Bureau. Some 29,100 voter registration books, 5,900 banners and other material were also handed over in support of referendum voter registration, expected to in two weeks time.
At the handover ceremony in Juba, Susan Fine, a principal officer of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), described the occasion as showing “real momentum”.
“I see now that there is real momentum with respect to the referendum. I want to reiterate that the United States’ government is fully committed to the timely execution of the referenda,” said Fine.
General Scott Gration, the United States’ Special Envoy to Sudan, while addressing a similar handing over ceremony in Khartoum, said: “It is wonder to recognize this great milestone, a one step to enable South Sudan to hold the referendum on time.”
The south’s referendum is the centerpiece of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Sudan’s ruling party and former rebels who now govern the south.
Members of the National Congress Party who control the central government have questioned whether a separate poll in the oil-rich region of Abyei will be able to go ahead on schedule on January 9, the same date as the south’s vote.
Gration said that the arrival and handing over of the materials to the committed teams of the international community and Sudanese authorities was an important step towards full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
Each voter registration booklet contains 200 voter registration cards, which will be given to registrants during the voter registration exercise. Registrants are required to present the card during polling.
The materials were printed in South Africa, and contain security features that make them very, very difficult to forge, according to USAID’s representative.
Thanking the international community for its efforts at the Khartoum warehouse, SRSC Chairman Mohamed Khalil said the commission had about one-tenth of the time needed to complete the massive task of the referendum exercise.
Khalil has previously said that it will be a miracle if the vote goes ahead on time.
With just over two months left before the poll, preparations are running months behind schedule.
According to the SSRC, voter registration will conclude on 1 December and the final electoral register will be published on 4 January just five days before voting begins.
Upon completing the handover, the materials became the responsibility of the SSRC, which will dispatch them to the referendum State High Committees across the country in the coming days.
UNIRED Project Manager in Juba Azhar Malik said that UNMIS would be delivering by air registration materials to 130 locations that were inaccessible by road.
Training of SSRC staff who will register eligible voters started on 26 October. An estimated 8,000 will be trained in the south and 2,000 in the north. The training will conclude on 5 November.
(ST)