On the 4th of June 2025, A delegation from the National Elections Commission (NEC) visited Bor, Jonglei from 3-5 June 2025 to mark a ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the State High Election Committee (SHEC) office. The office is being constructed with support from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan’ (UNMISS) Quick Impact Projects (QIPs). The project includes the construction of the office from the ground up, installation of a solar system, sanitation facilities, and a perimeter wall fence.
The delegation, led by Honorable Commissioner William Kolyin Deng and Secretary-General Mr. Gabriel Bol Deng of the NEC, held consultation meetings with the State Government, SHEC Jonglei, UNMISS Field Office and other electoral stakeholders.
The construction of the SHEC office in Bor is part of a broader collaborative effort between the UNMISS and the National Elections Committee, utilizing NEC and UNMISS resources, to refurbish and construct the offices of the State High Elections Committees so they are operational and functional in all ten states of South Sudan. The SHEC office construction will contribute to an enabling environment for elections, providing working space for electoral officials, and enhancing the capacity of the SHEC to manage inclusive and credible electoral processes. Furthermore, it will facilitate the engagement with electoral stakeholders, including voters, candidates, political parties, civil society organizations, the media, and observer groups, supporting an engaged, conducive environment for elections and enabling pre-electoral activities to begin.
Following the reconstitution of the NEC and the appointment of the State High Election Committees in 2024, one of the main priorities of the NEC has been to make its offices in the states operational. Since early 2024, NEC has engaged in consultation meetings with the Government of South Sudan and State Governments in order to secure funding, land, and/or office premises in order to construct or refurbish offices for use by the SHEC in each state.
The NEC would like to thank the government of Jonglei State for availing its land and acknowledge the United Nations Mission in South Sudan for their efforts in building NEC’s institutional capacity, and for their contribution to making the SHEC offices operational across the country.
“I would like to express my enthusiasm to see this project finally come to fruition and I look forward to the benefit it will yield to electoral stakeholders and the community of Jonglei state, as we lay the foundations to advance on election preparations”, highlighted Mr. Gabriel Bol Deng, Secretary-General of the National Elections Commission.