AU to Deploy Election Experts to South Sudan Ahead of December Polls

By Staff Writer

The African Union is preparing to deploy election experts to South Sudan, including at least one specialist to be based in Juba for an extended period, to support the National Elections Commission (NEC) as the country prepares for its December polls.

The AU reiterated its commitment to supporting elections in South Sudan and said it was in the process of dispatching election experts to the country.

“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 Patience Zanelie Chiradza, Director of Governance and Conflict Prevention in the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, on Tuesday during a meeting with South Sudan’s National Elections Commission Chairperson, Hon. Gabriel Bol Deng, in Addis Ababa.

The African Union said it wanted to help establish an election situation room in South Sudan, where various institutions and organizations, including civil society organizations, the media and government institutions, could converge to monitor the elections and compare notes on the democratic process.

The AU further said it would like NEC to provide an election roadmap to enable it to mobilize more resources to support the process.

“Given the little time that we have, we are ready to support trainings, 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.

On Tuesday, Hon. Gabriel Bol Deng, Chairperson of the National Elections Commission, met with officials from the African Union’s Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, led by Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

During the meeting, Hon. Bol discussed the NEC’s readiness for the upcoming December polls, noting that voter registration is set to begin in early November.

“Everything is in place; we will launch it and swiftly carry out voter registration across the country,” stated Hon. Bol.

He further said the primary hurdle facing the process was a lack of adequate resources for civic and voter education, voter registration and the required logistics.

However, he assured the AU officials that the Government of South Sudan remained committed to providing the necessary funding.

Hon. Bol urged the African Union to support the polls in South Sudan.

He said the government had so far provided funding to the commission, enabling it to carry out several activities, including the acquisition of the NEC headquarters building, the launch of civic and voter education, and the production of voter registration documents.

The NEC Chairperson also met with Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Khaled, the Ambassador of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union.

Ambassador Dr. Mohamed said his country was ready to support South Sudan’s elections. He urged NEC to urgently submit a request outlining its priorities and said Algeria would be ready to provide support according to its capabilities.

The NEC Chairperson said the institution had already recruited 22,127 workers who would be deployed to manage the polls planned for December 22.

“South Africa has offered to help NEC as well and it has already provided some in-kind assistance,” said NEC Chairperson Hon. Bol.

South Sudan is scheduled to hold general elections in December 2026, three months before the expiration of the 2018 Peace Agreement, which mandates the country’s transition to a democratic system of governance.

The polls will be the first general elections for the East African country, which gained independence in 2011.