Elections in Sudan - Day Three

Juba, Southern Sudan
April 13, 2010

Another interesting day in the capital of Southern Sudan.  Most polling locations throughout the country now have the original Registration booklets which has allowed many more people to vote.  The heads of polling locations in the north and west of Juba have report they have been able to increase the casting of ballots by 20-40%.

Once the election is complete, we will have a fuller picture of how the elections have proceeded, but for the moment, in addition to issues of free and fair elections, the persistent logistical issues will a major issue of these elections in the South.

The system of ballots, polling staff and materials which have been incorrectly delivered will play a roll in the success or failure of these elections.

System of Ballots

The process of voting is an unnecessarily complex process that requires each voter to cast twelve separate ballots in four separate bins.

Voters arrive at the polling location, and after finding their registration are instructed to dip their fingers in green ink.  They are then allowed to proceed to the first table to receive their ballots for executive elections.  At this station, there are three ballots (with green, blue or orange headers) which represent the elections for the President of the republic of Sudan, the President of the Government of Southern Sudan and the Governor of the state were the polling center is located.

Voters have three more elections which each have their own table at polling locations.  The National Assembly, State Assembly and the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly.  Voters can vote for parties in a proportional election.  Also, women and the political parties are guaranteed a certain percentage of seats, so voters are given the choice from which parties they shall be picked.

Although part of the election process was to inform Sudanese citizens of the voting system, this information is not readily available and most Southern Sudanese are not entirely sure how there vote translates into representation.

At polling locations, it is fairly common to see someone cast the executive ballot and attempt to head directly for the exit, but polling staff tend to catch them.

Polling Staff

Each polling location has a total of seven people who are responsible to ensure the balloting process is followed.  There is a Head of the polling location, one Identification Officer and four Ballot Paper Issuers.  Each has a specific job so no one is able to take breaks during the ten hours reserved for voting.

Often times, polling locations have been set up in open areas where the sun beats down throughout the day.  While some polling centers have received awning materials so they can set up in the shade, no location has received food or water.  Some polling locations have received large coverings that keep the sun off the polling staff and voters, but for the majority of outside locations, staff members are very uncomfortable.

Polling staff are very vocal about these issues and some have threatened to shut locations down unless these issues are corrected.

Materials

The United Nations has been responsible for the delivery of non-sensitive election materials, including the ballot boxes, the cardboard stands on which people cast their vote, but it has been the responsibility of the National Election Commission to arrange the safe delivery of ballots, tamper-evident seals, ink, etc. to polling locations.

It is a very common sight around Juba to enter a polling location and find polling staff quietly sitting around sealed ballot boxes not allowing people to vote because certain ballots are missing.

Oftentimes, one of the state legislative ballot papers at one polling center will have been switched with another polling center on the other side of town.  Polling staff are unable to make the switch themselves because of protocols, cost of moving between polling locations and they have been instructed to be at the polling location throughout the day.

Elections in Sudan - Day Two

Juba, Southern
April 12, 2010

Hassan Fataki is a somewhat short man in his late fifites.  He shows a warm smile as he approaches his polling location in the west of Juba in the area called Muniki. He was unable to vote yesterday because his name was not found on the voter roll, so he spent the day walking between different polling location in the hoping his name and registration have accidentally appeared somewhere else.

In order to find his name, he has to approach polling staff and request they look through an alphabetical list of registered voters.  Because names were originally handwritten during registration and different election workers typed the information into a database, names are often written incorrectly.  Many polling locations have received lists that are entirely in Arabic which makes the finding registrations presented in English all the more difficult.

In addition, all registrations include four names while most Southern Sudanese use two or three names.  Most voters added their father's name to the registration under the assumption they were required to use four names.  Sometimes, the fourth name has been listed as the first which has further confused the search for missing registrations.

Today, as voting winds down, Hassan has returned to his original polling location, where he was registered, and expected to return to,.in order to vote.

Groups of polling locations are called polling locations are called polling centers.  Polling centers are grouped together under the control of the local National Election Commission Controllers.

Luckily for Hassan, the Muniki NEC Controller has just arrived at his polling location with the original registration booklets from November.  Registration cards were torn out of the registration booklets and a stub was left behind with a copy of the voters name and registration number.

According to the Controller, who declined to have her name recorded, they NEC local office met last night and decided they needed to bring these booklets to each of the polling locations to confirm registration cards.  The polling staff look through the registration booklet if a name is missing from the voter roll and still allow them to vote as long as their names have been found.

The Controller looks tired as she slowly leafs through each of the seven booklets from this polling location looking for Hassan's registration.  Hassan looks over her shoulder with his hands behind his back expectantly but trying to stay out of her way.

Although this solution is far from perfect, as registration cards can not always be connected to the voter rolls, it is allowing many people to vote.  On average, polling centers have still only allowed perhaps 20% of would-be voters to cast their ballot.  At different sites around Juba, the heads of the polling locations report they have turned away as many as 50% of the people who are looking to vote.  The great majority of these people have valid registration cards that could not be located in the voter rolls.

The controller slumps back in her chair and calls over to the staff member manning the voter rolls.  Hassan's registration has been found and he will be allowed to vote.

Interestingly, the polling staff is able to then find his name, which appears to be very similar to the name on his registration card.  In the voter rolls, his registration is alphabetized by his first name and his registration number is correct.  As I asked why his name was not found earlier, people begin to get suspicious, and stop talking to me.

It is a strange situation because the controller and the polling staff seem diligent in their work and interested in ensuring people have their chance to vote.  Hassan's situation may have just been an oversight or perhaps something else, but nothing indicates any wrongdoing.

As the second of three days of polling come to a close, reports are coming in that polling centers beyond Muniki have received the registration booklets.  Although they are arriving late, they are now able to locate peoples' names by searching through a list of registration numbers.

Apparently, missing registrations is a problem specific to the south, and it seems the government of the south and the southern NEC feel the problem was an error of data entry.  This is a good fix for a problem that has seriously complicated this historic vote.

For the moment, as Hassan happily dips his finger in the green ink and collects his ballots, but the polling staff have their work cut out for them as polling is set to close tomorrow.

Elections in Sudan - Day One

Juba, Southern Sudan
April 11, 2010

Polling has closed on this first day of elections on a searing hot day in the southern capital of Juba.  Would-be voters hug walls or collect under trees as they avoid the blazing hot sun.  Although they hold valid registration cards, they grumble about not being allowed to cast their ballot because their name did not appear on the voter rolls.  It is estimated that no more than 15% of registered voters have cast their ballot on this first of three days of voting.

The voting process began nearly six months ago with a week long voter registration.  Sudanese adults were registered after proving their identity with either a national ID or two witnesses, although in most cases, these requirements were not followed.  Up to four names were recorded on the official registration sheets and then transferred to a registration card that was laminated with thick tape. Citizens instructed to bring their registration cards to elections.

Registration lists were collected from almost 2,700 registration locations in Southern Sudan alone, and the handwritten names were then typed into a nation-wide database. These lists were printed, along with other election materials, and then distributed, in April, to election staff throughout Southern Sudan.

During today's polling, many registered voters unable to find their names on the voter rolls, which are alphabetized by first name.  Some confusion has arisen when family names appear where first names should, or in some cases, names have been printed in Arabic, which neither voters nor polling staff can read.

While these problems loom over the election, the much larger issue is the names which do not appear on the voter rolls at all.  Many people  who have not been able to find their names at their polling station have walked to other polling stations in an attempt to have their chance to vote.  Most visit two or three polling stations but are still unable to vote.

At this point, it is unknown why these names have disappeared.  It is possible some names were removed after registration because they were invalid, but there has been no official statement to that effect.  Some of the representatives from the opposition parties have suggested names have been removed and sent to distant polling stations, but they have not provided evidence of their claims.

Although polling staff are aware of the problem, it is unclear whether the issue will be fixed.  A temporary solution could be to send each polling stations voting rolls from other polling stations, but this may compromise the validity of the elections if multiple ballots from are cast for the same registration.

Another solution would be to reorganize the lists according to the registration number which would make it easier for polling staff to find valid registration card that may have a misprinted name.

Either solution would present the National Election Commission or the Government of Southern Sudan with the difficult logistical challenge of reprinting the lists, protecting the integrity of the data and distributing these materials to polling stations within the election period. Planes would need to be chartered to the ten states within Southern Sudan and then materials would have to be driven to polling stations that are often difficult to reach.  Considering that many polling stations have not yet received tables, chairs, and in some cases, necessary election materials, this does not seem likely.

In the midst of all the problems, many of today's polling stations had a quiet and almost solemn feel, with people whispering as they stand in line to present their registration cards to polling staff.  The question tonight is if the experience of visiting a polling station will hold the same amount of reverence if the problems are not solved.

For sure, the sun will shine down hard again tomorrow, and southern Sudanese people will return to their polling stations in the hope they will be able to dip their finger in the green ink as proof they have voted.