By Yiep Joseph
The National Elections Commission (NEC) says voter registration will begin in early November as South Sudan prepares for December elections.
NEC Chairperson Gabriel Bol Deng announced the plan during a meeting with officials from the African Union’s (AU) Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday.
Bol said the commission was prepared to launch voter registration nationwide but faced resource constraints, particularly in civic education, voter registration and logistics.
“Everything is set; we will launch it and move quickly to carry out the voter registration across the country,” said Bol.
He said the government remained committed to funding the electoral process. Government support has enabled the commission to acquire its headquarters, launch civic and voter education, and produce voter registration documents.
However, Bol urged the AU to provide additional assistance to help the commission meet its preparations ahead of the December 22 polls.
The AU reiterated its commitment to supporting South Sudan’s elections and said it was arranging to deploy election experts to assist the commission.
“We are working on logistical arrangements to send experts to help NEC; we want at least one expert to be based in Juba for a considerable amount of time to fully support the elections,” said Director of Governance and Conflict Prevention, Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Patience Zanelie Chiradza.
Chiradza said the AU also wanted to help establish an election situation room where government institutions, civil society organisations and the media could monitor the polls and exchange information on the democratic process.
The AU further requested an election roadmap from the NEC to guide efforts to mobilise additional resources and coordinate assistance from member states.
“Given the little time that we have, we are ready to support training, civic and voter education. We know Nigeria has offered to support South Sudan’s elections; we will ask other member states to help as well.” Added Ms. Zanelie.
Bol also met with Algeria’s ambassador to Ethiopia and permanent representative to the AU, Dr. Mohamed Khaled, who expressed his country’s readiness to support the electoral process.
Khaled urged the NEC to submit an urgent request outlining its priority needs, saying Algeria would assist according to its capabilities.
The NEC chairperson said the commission had already recruited 22,127 workers to support the management of the elections scheduled for December 22.
“South Africa has offered to help NEC as well, and it has already provided some in-kind assistance.” Said NEC Chairperson, Honourable Bol.
South Sudan is scheduled to hold general elections on December 22, 2026, three months before the expiration of the 2018 Peace Agreement, which provides for the country’s transition to democratic governance.
The elections would be the first since South Sudan gained independence in 2011.