The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) launched a three-day workshop on elections management in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State on Tuesday, in preparation for the upcoming general elections expected in December 2024.
Attendees included members of civil society organizations, faith-based groups, the Aweil Women Association, the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Youth Union, and representatives from the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Elections Commission.
Teresa Ajie Thomas, the Acting Chairperson for the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Elections Commission, confirmed to Radio Tamazuj that the training aims to enhance the understanding and capacity of civil society organizations and other independent bodies regarding elections management.
“This training focuses on elections management. The participants will subsequently train others in the counties who will be involved in the elections process, with UNMISS providing the funding,” she said. “We are training civil society organizations, targeting neutral bodies. We do not train members of political parties.”
Participants call for extended training
Marial Alual Bak, a participant in the elections management workshop, praised the training but recommended additional sessions to fully understand all information related to elections and civic education.
“The training is really useful, but we lack information due to the short duration of the workshop. I am looking forward to more extended training sessions that last several days so we can delve deeper into election-related topics,” Alual said.
Marko Madut Wol, the Executive Director for the Christian Action for Development & Support (CADS), emphasized their commitment to acquiring sufficient information to actively participate in the upcoming elections.
“We aim to gain extensive information to actively participate in the elections in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State and South Sudan,” Madut said. “We are also prepared to train civil society organizations, women, youth groups, and other stakeholders.”
The training, attended by more than 25 participants, is funded by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan’s Electoral Department.