Carter Center praises peaceful voter registration despite concerns

November 30, 2009 (WASHINGTON) — The Carter Center, the major international elections monitoring body in Sudan, in a statement today commended “the largely peaceful implementation of national voter registration in Sudan,” which is set to end December 7.

The USA-based organization, which has observed elections in 30 countries, praised the relevant Sudanese organs for the progress made in conducting the ongoing registration. On a positive note, the Center stated “Overall, voter registration officials appear to be making dedicated and substantial efforts under often challenging conditions to implement registration activities.”

However, the Center expressed concern that while turnout has been high in certain states, participation has been uneven and many states appear to lag behind in meeting registration targets. The statement specifically mentioned that there are confirmed shortages of voter registration books in six states of Southern Sudan: Northern and Western Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap, Eastern Equatoria, Upper Nile and Unity state.

In its statement, the Center detailed specific instances of concern, such as the presence of agents of the National Intelligence and Security Service at registration centers in Darfur. The statement noted that “NISS is not an agency perceived neutrally by a substantial proportion of the population. Through their mere presence at centers, NISS agents may serve to intimidate some citizens from registering.”

The Center urged the National Elections Commission and Sudan’s state elections committees to make available additional funds for the registration process. They said that officials should “redouble efforts to ensure that registration books and materials reach as many eligible Sudanese as possible, especially in areas with difficult logistical and security challenges; and expand civic education on voter registration.”

The Carter Center’s team in Sudan consists of 32 medium and long-term observers. A large part of the delegation, some 20 of them, only recently began their activities following delays to their deployment, ostensibly due to paperwork requirements. The observer delegation is drawn from 21 countries. To date, this delegation has observed voter registration activities in more than 450 fixed and mobile registration centers in 22 states across the country.

According to another body of researchers, the Rift Valley Institute, Sudan is facing “a growing election crisis” and the ongoing registration period is a test for whether the elections have any chance of proceeding in a credible way.

(ST)