UNifeed: SUDAN / VOTER REGISTRATION WRAP

SUDAN / VOTER REGISTRATION WRAP

Voter registration is underway across Sudan ahead of the country's first Presidential and Legislative elections in nearly a quarter of a century. After a slow start, the numbers of residents coming out to register in the capital Khartoum are slowly increasing. UNMIS

Duration:02:56Date:05 November 2009

Categories:

United Nations Mission in Sudan, POLITICAL AND LEGAL QUESTIONS, MAINTENANCE OF PEACE AND SECURITY, SUDAN

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Full Script

STORY: SUDAN / VOTER REGISTRATION WRAP
TRT: 2:56
SOURCE: UNMIS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ARABIC

DATELINE: 5 NOVEMBER 2009 KHARTOUM, SUDAN

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide shot, voter registration centre
2. Close up, registration kit box
3. Med shot, old man registering
4. Close up, old man registering
5. Med shot, lady folding registration receipt
6. Med shot, lady hands over man his voter ID card
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdul Rahman Mohammed, ex-employee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
 “We are not going to live for long, you know. So people who are young and the youth should be more concerned about this because this will shape the future of Sudan for the next years.”
8. Med shot, women at registering counter
9. Close up, lady smiling
10. Close up, passport
11. Wide shot, ladies walking out of frame.
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Disarah Abdul Wahab:  
“I registered and voted in 1986 during the general elections. But these elections are important; people should look forward to a better future for Sudan, through national unity and a peaceful life for the civilians.”
13. Wide Shot, UNMIS head of Mission, Ashraf Qazi visiting the centre 
14. Close up, Ashraf Qazi
15. Med shot, Ashraf Qazi being briefed on the process
16. Close up, register book
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Mukhtar Al-Assam, NEC Representative:
“We have registered right now, in this centre, more than 1,600 which is equivalent to about 400 a day. We were hoping to register only 200 a day but we are 100 percent more than our expectations. The same is true about Darfur and Southern Sudan and we are quite hopeful that by the end of this month we will have registered the majority of Sudanese who are eligible to register for these elections.”
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Ashraf Qazi, Special Representative to the Secretary General, UNMIS:
“This voter registration period is crucial because this enables people to vote. People have the right to vote but without being registered they would not be able to vote. So this registration process which is expected to last throughout November and possibly go in to December a bit, is a very crucial initiation of the electoral process.”
19. Wide shot, young man registering
20. Med shot, boy registering 
21. Close up, identification card
22. SOUNDBITE (English) Ismail Mohammed, student: 
“I am 19 years old and this is my first time to vote. I have this feeling that I cannot express but it’s my first time experience to vote.”
23. Wide shot, boy walking out of centre 
24. Med shot, boy walks away with friend

STORYLINE:

Voter registration is underway across Sudan ahead of the country’s first Presidential and Legislative elections in nearly a quarter of a century. The process began on Sunday (1 Nov) and will last for just one month.

Registrations centers across the capital Khartoum opened to very few residents coming out to register. Officials and voters blame the poor attendance on lack of information on the locations of the centers and how to get registered.

SOUNDBITE (English) Abdul Rahman Mohammed:  Ex-employee Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
 “We are not going to live for long, you know. So people who are young and the youth should be more concerned about this because this will shape the future of Sudan for the next years.”

And now five days into the registration process, the numbers are slowly increasing with various political parties encouraging their supporters to come out and get registered.

Sixty-year-old Disarah Abdul Wahab came out to register at a center not too far from his house in Khartoum’s Al Arkeaweek area. He remembers voting in Sudan’s last elections in April 1986 and has a message for young voters.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Disarah Abdul Wahab:  
“I registered and voted in 1986 during the general elections. But these elections are important; people should look forward to a better future for Sudan, through national unity and a peaceful life for the civilians.”

For over 20 years the people of the Sudan have not been able to decide on their leaders. A democratic election process is one of the benchmarks of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed between the National Congress Party in the north and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in the south, ending over two decades of war.

SOUNDBITE (English) Mukhtar Al-Assam: NEC Representative
“We have registered right now, in this centre, more than 1,600 which is equivalent to about 400 a day. We were hoping to register only 200 a day but we are 100 percent more than our expectations. The same is true about Darfur and Southern Sudan and we are quite hopeful that by the end of this month we will have registered the majority of Sudanese who are eligible to register for these elections.”

The head of the United Nations Mission in Sudan, Ashraf Qazi visited the registration center to have a first hand view of how the process was going.
The administrator at this center is hopeful that more people will get involved.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ashraf Qazi, Special Representative to the Secretary General, UNMIS
“This voter registration period is crucial because this enables people to vote. People have the right to vote but without being registered they would not be able to vote. So this registration process which is expected to last throughout November and possibly go in to December a bit, is a very crucial initiation of the electoral process.”

The UN has provided logistical support, moving registration material to remote areas of the country as well as providing training to the National Electoral Commission.

For many young people in Sudan, next year’s elections will be their first opportunity to exercise their right to vote. Nineteen-year-old Ishmael Mohammed, a student, is excited to be a part of the process.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ismail Mohammed: Student 
“I am 19 years old and this is my first time to vote. I have this feeling that I cannot express but it’s my first time experience to vote.”

Sudan’s general elections are scheduled for April 2010, after which a referendum on whether the south will stay united or opt for secession will be determined in 2011.

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