RUMBEK–Lakes State has trained 16 county constituency returning officers to oversee voter registration, a step towards preparing the state for South Sudan’s December 22 general elections as the commission races against time to put election structures in place.
The Lakes State High Elections Committee (SHEC), in collaboration with the National Elections Commission (NEC) and the state government, conducted the training over the weekend, bringing together 34 participants, including government officials, election committee members, civil society representatives and journalists.
The 16 officers, representing eight counties, are expected to train 1,890 voter registration centre staff who will be deployed across 270 registration centres in the state.
The preparations are part of the wider effort to establish the personnel and administrative structures needed to conduct voter registration ahead of the country’s first general elections since independence in 2011.
Prof. Kot Kuocnin Kuer, chairperson of the Lakes State High Elections Committee, urged the returning officers to demonstrate professionalism, transparency and independence in carrying out their responsibilities.
He warned that preparations were under time pressure, comparing them to the 2010 general elections, when he said disagreements and administrative challenges affected the process.
He said election officials must use the training to demonstrate that they are qualified to manage the registration process, adding that their conduct would influence public confidence in the electoral exercise.
“You have to equip yourself here so that everyone knows you are a person who is trained and qualified to do the work. The selection which we have done for us was a terrible selection by the way,” he said. “You do what we will admire, whatever you will do. Let us admire it.”
Kuer also cautioned the officers against political interference and inappropriate relationships that could compromise their impartiality and damage the credibility of the state election committee.
He said the officers would play a direct role in shaping the conduct of the elections by supervising the recruitment and training of registration personnel.
Abraham Gop Achien, a member of the State High Elections Committee and one of the facilitators, said the 16 returning officers and their assistants would undergo further training before being deployed to prepare registration centre personnel.
“As per today, will be training 16 returning officers with their assistants that cover eight counties of Lakes State,” he said. “Next week, we will be training 1,890 voter registration staff in different stations.”
He explained that each of the 270 registration centres would have seven staff members, bringing the total number of personnel requiring training to 1,890.
Meanwhile, Daniel Laat Kon, chairperson of the Civil Society Organisations Network in Lakes State, urged the returning officers to recognise their responsibility in protecting the integrity of the electoral process.
He described them as custodians of the people’s voice and said their conduct at registration centres would influence public confidence in the elections.
“I want you to take this training very seriously because whatever you are going to do outside, there is what is going to show the image of Lakes State and you must first start with what you are going to do and how are going to do it,” he said.
“For us to have free, fair, and credible elections in South Sudan. We must adopt or stick to all the principle of impartiality, transparency and being professional.”
Laat Kon said professionalism required election officers to follow their training and avoid actions that could undermine the National Elections Commission.
He warned that their performance would be closely watched by communities and other stakeholders, urging them to remain accountable and transparent throughout the registration exercise.
The training comes as the National Elections Commission races against time to prepare the country for the December 22, 2026, general elections. With less than two months remaining, voter registration has yet to begin, although the commission has started distributing voter registration materials to some states.
