The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has inaugurated and handed over a newly constructed State Election Commission office in Unity State.
The facility, built in the state capital, Bentiu, is the first permanent electoral commission building constructed in the state since South Sudan gained independence in 2011.
The project, funded by UNMISS and implemented by the non-governmental organisation Children Aids South Sudan (CASS), cost more than $100,000.
At the handover ceremony in Bentiu on Tuesday, the Head of the UNMISS Field Office in Bentiu, Sam Muhumure, urged officials to put the facility to good use.
“To the electoral commission, especially here at the state level, I hope from today, now you have a home,” Muhumure said. “You will start engaging so that people can come here, ask questions about elections and be properly guided by the State High Election Committee.”
Unity State Governor Riek Bim Top welcomed the development and stressed the importance of peaceful elections.
“We are fully aware that elections can either unite or divide,” Governor Top said. “Our responsibility as leaders is to ensure that the coming election unites the people of South Sudan and the people of Unity State.”
“We must encourage political actors to compete with ideas and not with weapons, and to compete with programmes and not with threats,” he added.
The handover of the office comes as South Sudan prepares for its first general election since independence, currently scheduled for December 2026.
The National Elections Commission (NEC) has been complaining about a lack of funding by the government despite the urgent needs for election preparation.