The United Nations Integrated Electoral Assistance Team (UN IEAT) on Thursday officially handed over a fully furnished office to strengthen the institutional preparedness and capacity of the Elections Security Committee at the South Sudan National Police Service (NPS) administration headquarters in Juba.
The USD 70,000 conference facility is equipped with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment and a solar power system, enabling the NPS to enhance coordination, uphold transparency, and ensure law enforcement during the electoral process.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Costanja Wangeli, Deputy Chief of the UN IEAT, commended the Election Security Committee for working with the UN to provide technical support.
“As the UN, we enormously appreciate the fact that you have welcomed us at the table and that you have created this coordination with your providers of technical assistance, but also with the National Election Commission, which is part also of the committee,” she said.
Wangeli added the establishment of the office space for the security committee is in line with the idea of making election security a collective responsibility of the police, other organized forces, and partner organizations.
According to the UN official, one of the greatest roles of the police in elections is early planning.
“I would like to acknowledge the vision of the National Police Service in terms of early planning,” Wangeli stressed. “There are a lot of unpredictable timelines and events, but the fact that you have focused on early planning, I think, speaks to the role that the police is playing and will be playing in elections.”
For his part, Maj Gen. Sadik Ismaiel Sadigi, the chairperson of elections security, said with the handover of the office space, his committee will be able to operationalize activities. He revealed that before the handover of the facility, the security committee used to conduct its meetings in the Deputy Inspector General of Police’s office.