Between 22 April and 28 June 2024, the United Nations Integrated Electoral Assistance Team (IEAT) implemented a comprehensive training program in South Sudan utilizing an international election training curriculum, Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Election (BRIDGE). BRIDGE is an international election training curriculum developed by five global partners: the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC); UNDP; UN DPPA; International IDEA; and IFES. In total, 26 BRIDGE training events were held: Introduction to Electoral Administration (3 days); Building Institutional Excellence in Elections (5 days); Operational Planning; Train the Facilitators (10 days) ; Civic and Voter Education (4 days); and Access to Electoral Processes (3 days).

This training program was the largest BRIDGE training program in its 25-year history as the pre-eminent global curriculum for training election stakeholders. BRIDGE was welcomed and positively evaluated by the participants. The trainings provided an opportunity for electoral stakeholders to meet and discuss various electoral thematic areas within a broader electoral-cycle approach. The program strengthened the capacity and knowledge of the newly re-constituted National Election Commission (NEC) and newly recruited staff. Training included a range of stakeholders, including youth organizations, women organizations, disability persons organizations and faith-based organizations. Events were held across the country in all ten (10) states of South Sudan and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area.

A total of 679 participants (60% male, 40% female) were trained in different BRIDGE modules. Nearly half of the participants (48%) were from civil society organizations, followed by representatives of National Election Commission (18%), State High Election Committees (9%), State-level government authorities (7%), Media (2%), and United Nations (15%).

In addition to providing vital foundational training to 679 participants, the program also created a pool of 19 trained facilitators from the NEC, civil society, and UN IEAT national staff, with skills to develop and implement training programs, and potential to become fully accredited BRIDGE facilitators in the future. Three national facilitators were provided the opportunity to facilitate BRIDGE training and one received workshop level accreditation. The trainings increased awareness among the stakeholders on strategies for inclusion of women, youth, persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons and refugees in electoral process. The program enhanced understanding among stakeholders on delivery of civic and voter education programs and messages. Electoral officials, civil society organizations and other stakeholders expressed the need for continued training.

June 25, 2024

The National Elections Commission (NEC), in cooperation with the UN-IEAT, conducted a series of workshops to review key elements of voter registration. These workshops took place between June 3rd and 5th, with a follow-up on June 24th, 2024.

Objectives

The workshops aimed to:

1. Discuss the country context and specific challenges and opportunities related to designing a voter registration process.
2. Review key elements of a voter registration process.
3. Identify a way forward for NEC’s preparations for voter registration.

Participants

The events were attended by 34 participants, including Commissioners, Secretariat Members, and UN-IEAT counterparts.

Outcomes

The trainings resulted in:

1. Raised awareness of existing challenges, opportunities, and decisions required, both political and technical.
2. Increased awareness of the sequencing of activities required for planning and implementing voter registration.
3. Enhanced understanding of the existing legal framework for elections, specifically voter registration, and the different operational steps of the process.
4. Greater awareness of the different options available for voter registration.
5. Improved knowledge of the timeframes for planning and implementing a voter registration process.
6. Identification of next steps required for planning voter registration within the broader context of setting up the Commission and planning for elections.

Juba, 21 May 2024

The NEC, with the support of the UN Integrated Electoral Assistance Team (IEAT), conducted an internal workshop on legal drafting. The purpose of the workshop was to initiate the process of deliberations on the secondary legislation that the NEC shall adopt, as mandated by the National Elections Act 2012 (as amended), in order to supplement specific areas of the electoral legal framework. NEC members as well as members of the secretariat participated in this workshop, that set the pace for the regulations to be adopted, the consultation with external stakeholders such as political parties and civil society regarding specific regulations and the way forward.