Unity state’s registered voters’ number reaches more than half million
By James Gatdet Dak
December 6, 2009 (JUBA) – The number of registered eligible voters in Unity state for the upcoming 2010 general elections has reached more than 500,000 by Sunday, 6th December 2009.
Just a day before voter registration process ends in Sudan on Monday, 7th December, Southern Sudan Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, announced that more than a half million eligible voters have been registered in Unity state.
Dr. Machar, who arrived to Juba on Sunday after a week visit to the state, also held a series of meetings with the governor Taban Deng Gai as well as with members of the SPLM Liberation Council and discussed issues connected to the current political situation in the region.
Last week the National Elections Commission (NEC) ranked Unity state as the first among the country’s 25 states during the ongoing turnout for voter registration; Western Bahr el Ghazal state, another Southern state, is named in the second position while Kassala state in the North ranks in the third position.
Khartoum state, the seat of the national government, was said to be in the fourth position, followed in the fifth position by Central Equatoria state, the seat of the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan.
Southern Sudan High Elections Committee on Sunday announced that 3.2 million eligible voters have been registered so far in the ten Southern Sudan states, one day before the closure of the registration process.
This, according to the High Elections Committee, constitutes 78% of the targeted number of eligible voters in Southern Sudan.
Machar also urged the State authorities together with the SPLM members of the state Liberation Council to cooperate with Dr. Joseph Manytuil Wijang, the SPLM’s State chairman and the party’s flag bearer for Unity State governorship next year.
Dr. Wijang, the current minister of Health in the Government of Southern Sudan, was officially nominated this week by the ruling party in the oil-rich state as the candidate for the post of governor in the upcoming elections.
(ST)