By Julius N. Uma

May 2, 2011 (JUBA) - As polls officially opened on Monday in South Kordofan, the Carter Center expressed concerns over security deterioration in the region, urging concerned authorities to ensure “genuine and credible” process within the state.

A Sudanese woman drops her vote into a ballot box during gubernatorial and legislative elections being held in Kadugli, in South Kordofan, on May 2, 2011 (Getty)

“Although the recently concluded candidate nomination period was largely conducted transparently, efficiently, and peacefully, there have been worrying developments during the campaign period,” the Center said in its 1 May communiqué.

The Carter Center, according to the statement, remains particularly concerned about armed conflict that broke out in El Faid, reportedly resulting in dozens of casualties and the “tensions between rival candidates in certain areas could negatively affect voter turnout, impact the results, and therefore reduce the credibility of the electoral process”.

A total of 642,555 people, according to the National Elections Commission (NEC), registered for South Kordofan’s elections. This figure is said to be about 100,000 fewer than those who registered in the region during the April 2010 elections. Overall, there were 1,463 registration centers, while the process was reportedly manned by 110 mobile teams spread across the state.

South Kordofan was the only state in Sudan which did not hold the election on schedule in April last year. The registration process was conducted again after demands from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).

Many groups from the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan joined the southern-based SPLM in their two decade civil war against the Khartoum government. However, after the South voted for independence in January as part of a 2005 peace deal that ended the conflict, South Kordofan is set to remain part of north Sudan governed by Khartoum.

After the elections, however, they will together with Blue Nile, hold the long-awaited popular consultations to assess whether the peace deal has addressed their grievances. The consultations will also assess the relationship between the two states and the Khartoum government.

The Carter Center openly appealed to leaders from the south and northern governments, state authorities, political parties, and other stakeholders to work together and devise mechanisms for peaceful resolutions of tension in the region.

Specifically, it urged the southern regime to release Telefon Kuku, a gubernatorial candidate allegedly detained in contradiction with the country’s National Elections Act.

“Despite flaws noted in regard to candidate nominations and campaigns, there remains an important window before the start of polling for all sides to commit to ensuring a genuine, credible election that reflects the will of the people of South Kordofan” the statement further said.

The Carter Center, Sudan Tribune has learned, deployed 24 observers to monitor 2 May gubernatorial and state legislative elections. These include a core team of analysts as well as long-term observers who have been in South Kordofan observing the voter registration and campaign periods.

The observation mission reportedly represents 14 different nations including Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kenya, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Zimbabwe.

(ST)