Thank you, Sarah.
I would like to start with general observations before the voter registration started, since we've been here in August.
On October 29 we released a comprehensive statement expressing some concern about a number of issues, including the lack of funds available to the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission and the Southern Sudan Referendum Bureau. We had some concerns about lack of vehicles to move materials from the states to the referendum centres; the vague eligibility criteria; the lack of clarity over the appointment of identifiers in the process; and a huge lack of information in the public sphere about the process. We also urged the parties to conclude agreements on citizenship in Abyei. Those are the main points in our statement.
Prior to the voter registration that started on Monday, we observed that preparations were slow moving on the ground in September and into October, but the pace has picked up dramatically in the last few weeks. Another observation we documented is that the commission's decision-making is heavily centralized. There are some communication gaps between the commission chair and the international technical advisers. They have stalled approval of a number of important documents, including the voter registration manual and observer regulations. Even though the campaign period started officially on November 7, there are still no regulations for campaigning.
Prior to voter registration in the south, we noticed very little voter education in the public sphere. There's very little discussion of the unity option publicly in the south. There are reports that proponents of unity feel intimidated, but we have no concrete reports to substantiate that. Those reports were given to our observers.
We were worried about the delivery of materials and the recruitment and training of staff. That was very problematic, haphazard, and delayed in the last election. We are fairly impressed that training has happened on time. Most of the materials seem to have arrived at the county level and at the centres--at the last minute, but it seems in a majority of cases they have arrived.
Prior to voter registration, there was a lot of uncertainty among southerners living in the north about their fate during and after a referendum. That is creating some confusion, and in some cases they are afraid to register. There's a huge lack of voter education in the north among southerners, and many people are not clear whether they are even eligible to register. A large number of southerners are moving to the south, either spontaneously or organized, so there's a large repatriation happening.
In the north, campaigning for unity is very apparent and campaigning for separation is rare.
We mentioned the citizenship issue in our statement. We feel that there's fear and confusion coming from the southerners in the north, in particular, but also from the northerners in the south. It's one of the key post-referendum issues that need to be addressed prior to the referendum, to enable people to make informed choices. We feel that the presidents of both the central government and southern Sudan need to clarify the status of the people and prohibit their own officials from making damaging statements.
In terms of what we've seen in the first few days, I can give you a very short snapshot. I have to qualify that it's not indicative of the larger process, because it deals with the first few days, and it is a process of 17 days.
As of now, in the north, we've seen very low turnouts in every state. This could be due to the Eid holiday. It is very quiet at the moment in the north.
We did find that the centres had opened on time, in general, and that materials had arrived in a timely manner. Again, civic education is poor or non-existent throughout the north.
In general, so far, the security situation has been calm. With some exceptions, police and plainclothes officers have been outside the centres.
There are no consideration committees at all in the north. The consideration committees are the ones that determine whether someone who is rejected has the right to appeal. People appeal to the consideration committees, but we haven't seen any of those committees in place yet. That's a concern.
In the south, we have had a much better turnout. There has been a steady stream of people. The materials have arrived on time. Again, there is low awareness of the actual process, and there are no consideration committees.
Those are very preliminary observations on voter registration.