Local Coalition Group Educates Voters in Southern Sudan

In preparation for elections in southern Sudan next April, the Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SuNDE) has concluded a successful two-week voter education campaign, conducting 375 events in 37 counties in all 10 states of southern Sudan.

The presidential, parliamentary and local elections will be the first nationwide vote since the start of Sudan’s civil war, which began in 1986 and ended in 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The 2010 general election is an historic step towards completing the transition from an appointed government to an elected one, as outlined by the CPA.

Since 2005, NDI has been supporting Sudanese efforts to lay the groundwork necessary to overcome the obstacles to the transition to elected government. To that end, NDI helped to establish SuNDE, a network of over 70 nonpartisan Sudanese civil society organizations and faith-based groups.

Events from the voter education campaign ranged from election briefings for key community leaders to presentations at town markets and community events. Topics included the importance of participating in the elections, what offices are up for election, and voter registration procedures.

Read local press coverage of the events»

The education campaign sought to address misconceptions about voting that were identified through focus group research undertaken across the country and compiled into NDI’s recently released report, Imagining the Election: A Look at What Citizens Know and Expect of Sudan’s 2010 Vote. The report found a lack of familiarity with basic electoral procedures, which SuNDE hopes to correct over the coming months.

SuNDE stressed the need for citizens to register to vote, which they will able to do starting in November. SuNDE members reported that citizens were eager to learn about the coming elections. They wanted to know how and when to register to vote, how the security situation in southern Sudan will affect the election, and what offices they will be voting for.

“Many citizens will be casting a ballot for the very first time in the upcoming elections,” said Reverend Benjamin Lemi, a member of SuNDE’s Juba Coordinating Group. “It is important that citizens have the basic knowledge they will need to participate confidently and effectively in these elections.”

Once the voter registration period opens, SuNDE plans to conduct another round of voter education through its network of trained members in all 10 states. SuNDE also plans to conduct domestic observation of the electoral process, including the upcoming voter registration period.

Read NDI’s full report, Imagining the Election»

Pictured above: A SuNDE coalition member speaks to the press about the voter education campaign.

Published on October 21, 2009