The Central Equatoria State Civil Society Network (CESCSN) on Tuesday launched a Community Sensitization and Awareness Campaign on electoral processes and civil rights.
The campaign, under the theme: Building Stronger Communities Through Civic Participation Toward a More Democratic Society, is supported by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
CESCSN Chairperson Shamila Abdallah said local communities lacked adequate and reliable civic education, which undermined their participations in elections.
Abdallah noted that with the UNMISS support, they would implement a comprehensive civic education and urged the state government to fully support it.
“Many people lack sufficient understanding of the electoral process, the civic responsibility and the importance of the peace. CESCSN, with support from UNMISS, will implement a comprehensive civic education to sensitize citizens about their role in elections, promote peaceful and active participation and foster democratic governance. I would like to appeal to the Central Equatoria State Government to facilitate the implementation of the quick impact project,” Abdallah said.
UNMISS Head of Field Mission in Juba Njoki Rihab Kinyanjui said the project would target 35,000 beneficiaries from the six counties of the Central Equatoria State for the three months.
The Deputy Central Equatoria State Governor Paulino Lokudu Obede stated that the project comes at the right time when the transitional government had agreed to postpone elections for another two years to have enough time for civic education.
Obede further highlighted that the initiative was in line with the constitution that permits citizens to engage in a democratic process.
“What we are doing here today is in line with our Constitution, Chapter Two on the Bill of Rights, the Political Parties Act and other laws that permit the citizens to engage in a democratic process, peace and unity,” he said.
He further expressed the support of the Central Equatoria State government by ensuring that all the activities of the project are not interrupted across the six counties.
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