Voter registration kicked off on 1 November across Sudan in preparation for national elections next April, but officials and voters say the population has been ill informed about the process.

UNMIS public information officers visited several registration centres in Central Equatoria, Upper Nile, Western Bahr El-Ghazal and Khartoum states and spoke with participants about the process during its first week.

Registration, administered by the National Elections Commission (NEC), takes place at centres based on constituencies for one month. Many centres received lower numbers of people than expected, although there has been a slow increase in numbers as the process went on.

Head of the NEC registration unit at Khartoum's Al Taif area, Mohammed El-Noman, said that about 200 people had registered by the afternoon of the fourth day, which was an increase as opposed to previous days.

"Media had been weak in informing the population about the registration process," Mr. El-Noman cited as a reason for the low turnout. He added that various political parties had started to actively campaign, motivating supporters to register to vote.

Upper Nile State's four constituencies registered only a handful of people during the first days. According to voter registration team coordinator in Central Malakal, James Kon, "Lack of information and publicity has caused the low turnout ... in Malakal."

Difficulties also resulted from some of the centres lacking permanent premises, said Mukhatar Hamad Jiya, voter registration team coordinator in North Malakal, whose team was renting a small shop until they were assigned a permanent building.

Despite initial hardships, the process had been going well, officials in the Wau area said. "We are working to conduct a smooth and proper voter registration process in the state," Caleta Aku Satro, deputy team leader for the Western Bahr El-Ghazal High Election Committee said.

Ms. Satro added the committee was working with partners, including the United Nations and non-governmental organizations, to mobilize people in remote areas.

"We are specially focusing on women and encouraging them to use the opportunity and decide their future through free and fair elections," she said.

Claiming that the population should be widely informed about where and how to register, resident Susan Elia in the Hai Tarawa suburb of Juba said, "It is historic for me to register because I can now express my right to vote."

Leaving one of Khartoum's registration centres, a female Gireif resident said that youth were willing to register to vote, but that many were unaware of the procedure.

"Young people are burning to register because it's the first time for them to experience this. But a lot of them don't know how to do it ... no one has taught them the process," she said, adding that information about it was scarce in Sudanese media, including newspapers, television or radio.

Khartoum registration team leader Mr. El-Noman said that information was unclear, although the population had been informed about the process. "They keep asking (about the process) until they reach the centre (where they are supposed to register), which simply shows that information has not gone out as it was supposed to."

Regardless of hurdles, the voter registration process has been welcomed by citizens looking for democratic transformation.

"I am happy to be registered today so I can vote for the first time in my life ... it is very important for our country, especially for Southern Sudan that has not witnessed inclusive elections since its creation," said Okot Joseph in Juba.

Queuing at a registration centre in Wau, 67-year-old Aguang Magar Maluk said he was hoping the election would bring a bright future for him and his people.

"I had participated in two previous elections in the county which didn't bring any change we wanted. But this time I hope it would bring all the changes ... we aspired to for a long time," Mr. Maluk said.

To address logistical challenges, UNMIS and the UN Development Program are delivering a massive 120,000 kilograms of registration material to remote areas by land and air, and assisting to transport National Elections Committee officials to voter registration training locations.