The Sudanese Civil Society Organizations’ Platform for Elections

The Sudanese Civil Society Organizations’ Platform for Elections has been founded on the basis of shared coordination of activities and cooperation between civil society organisations working in the field of awareness raising and training on issues of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Interim National Constitution of 2005, and the Elections Law of 2008. The Platform forms a nucleus for coordination, exchange of information and expertise, and aims at the strengthening and development of alliances working on voter education and awareness raising on the importance of elections and its observation and monitoring. It consists of 36 civil society organisations active in the field of elections: research centres, cultural centres and societies in Khartoum, Juba, Dongola, Shendi, Nyala, Zalingi, Elfashir, Eldilling, Gedaref, Kassala, Port Sudan and Madani

Vision

A human and democratic society in a Sudanese state based on the rule-of-law, with legally based and democratically elected institutions.

Mission

To enhance the process of democratic transformation in Sudan by contributing to the implementation of free, fair, peaceful, and periodical elections.

Goals

To offer voter education in order to stimulate and encourage participation in the elections, in particular women,

To participate in the observation and monitoring of electoral conducts and processes,

To provide an open platform for the enhancement of dialogue, coordination and integration between governmental and non-governmental organisations working on elections.

Achievements

Since January 2008, the Platform member organisations have implemented more than 70 trainings, fora, and workshops in the field of voter education and election monitoring in the city of Juba in Southern Sudan, and in the Northern states of Kassala, South Kordofan, River Nile, the Northern State, Khartoum, Gezira, and the three States of Darfur.

Target groups

The activities implemented by the Platform member organisations targeted different societal groups and state institutions, among them: university students, academics, teachers, jurists, judges, police, local authorities, local administrative officers, political parties, female leaders, and artists (painters, singers, theatre-makers).

Current activities

developing a concept for cooperation on the basis of a non-traditional, flexible and effective system of working,

increasing the number of Platform branches (research centres, cultural centres, active NGOs and CBOs) in the regions,.

arranging and coordination of awareness raising activities and trainings on ‘how to register’ and ‘how to vote’, the importance of the participation of women, and on the processes of observation and monitoring of elections,

developing a manual for election observation and monitoring and observation report writing.

The member organisations of the Platform have already agreed on a Code of Conduct on the role of civil society organisations in the electoral monitoring process .

enhancing the use of ‘inter-active tools’ (contacts, networking, exchange of information on elections) through the internet, the cheapest and fastest means possible, by making use of ‘blogs’ as an alternative means of information sharing. For this purpose the Platform has set up SHAMS, a Sudanese ‘bloggers network’. Members of the Platform administer and edit the website that provides basic information about voter education and elections monitoring, and about the activities of the Platform

The Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct of The Sudanese Civil Society Organizations’ Platform for Elections

Preamble

Believing in the efficient and lively role of an independent elections monitoring process in promoting democratic electoral practice, and taking up our shared responsibility for free, fair and periodical elections.

On the basis of our joint work on awareness raising and training on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Interim National Constitution of 2005, and the Elections Law of 2008,

On the basis of the joint vision shared during that work, we declare our wish to further develop mutual cooperation and coordination, and work together as the Sudanese Civil Society Organizations Platform for Elections for the sake of monitoring elections and exchanging information and expertise.

Based on these grounds, we undertake to abide by the following:

1. Respect for the legal jurisdiction and sovereignty of the state originating from the National Interim Constitution of 2005, the national laws and all international criteria for human rights included in the Bill of Rights, in particular the rights relating to elections.

2. Cooperation with the National Elections Commission and all other related entities to guarantee that the elections reflect the will of the people, according to the Elections Law of 2008.

3. Performing of an independent and neutral monitoring in order to observe and monitor electoral conduct in general and the electoral process under the sovereignty of law, and to observe to what extent all the voters and nominees achieve a non-biased, neutral and efficient electoral procedures, as well as the neutrality of all the state's official institutions, in that they do not, in any way, influence the will of the voters nor exploit the resources of the state for the benefit of any particular party/nominee.

4. Respect for the secrecy of the information obtained and the sources providing them.

5. All monitors from our side should make themselves clearly visible throughout the phases of the electoral process, and should immediately present themselves before any concerned or responsible entity and should, of course, carry with them specific identity cards as long as they are on duty.

6. They should refrain from taking part in any meetings or electoral demonstrations, encouraging others to participate in them, repeating their slogans or participating in disputes within or outside these groups.

7. They should refrain from intervening with the procedures of the electoral operation.

8. They should refrain from carrying arms while on duty.

9. They should abide- while performing their duty of monitoring- by institutionalism which requires that declarations and reports should be issued by corporations and never by individuals, in addition to respecting the decisions of the platform.

10. They should -within adequate time- disclose any possible contradiction of interests, and refrain from taking part in any activity or assessment involving a case where 'contradiction of interests' applies.

Epilogue

In order to perceive and assess the extent of implementation, and protect the electoral rights in practice, and with the aim that the assessment process will lead to the promotion and development of a democratic electoral conduct in our home country, we will do all we can in order to obtain correct and accurate information and we undertake that its accuracy will be verified according to a trustworthy, scientific standard of verification, and we will consider objectively all incidents presented to us and deal with them in a neutral and non-biased way.