15 April 2011 - Training for Southern Kordofan polling officials began in Kadugli today, with senior election officials emphasizing transparency and impartiality.

State Elections High Committee Chairperson Adam Abdin told constituency election officers that the elections were very sensitive for the whole of Sudan, adding that all eyes were now on Southern Kordofan.

"We have to do everything well and in front of all these (political) parties ... We have invited them to be present from the beginning – to attend and sleep in this place," he said.

The committee has given a car to each party, so that they could be present to observe that work was going according to their expectations, Mr. Abdin said.

Training will take place in three steps, beginning with three days for Constituency Elections Officers (CEOs) from the state's 32 districts, according to UN Integrated Referendum and Electoral Division(UNIRED) Training Officer Noor Tawil.

The CEOs will then go back to their constituencies and train area polling centre committee heads for two days. The centre heads will in turn give one-day training sessions to polling staff that make up their committees.

"There are different roles and responsibilities at the different levels, which is why we have more days for the CEOs,' Ms. Tawil said. "They will be involved not just with voting and counting, but also with result management."

The training is being conducted by trainers from the National Elections Commission, with technical and advisory assistance from UNIRED.