Election officials in Upper Nile State are counting on UNMIS to help them distribute key voting materials when they begin to arrive in the state capital of Malakal next month.

The Upper Nile State High Committee has identified 420 polling stations where ballot boxes and voting cards will have to be delivered before balloting gets underway on 11 April.

"We need the assistance of UNMIS to distribute election materials to the remote areas with their helicopters," said Philip Mayik Yor, team leader for the state's high committee.

The UN Development Programme is providing funding for the production of such election materials.

A total of 425,669 eligible Southern Sudanese registered to vote in Upper Nile State last year, according to Michelle Silva of the UNMIS Electoral Assistance Division (EAD) unit in Malakal.

Polling stations in Southern Sudan will be expected to handle approximately 1,000 registered voters each during the three-day balloting period in April.

By comparison, about 1,400 registered voters will be assigned to each of the polling stations in the country's 15 northern states.

The official campaign period kicked off on 14 February, and high committee officials in Upper Nile State have begun to broadcast messages of peace on local radio stations to promote a free and fair political climate for the upcoming elections.

Mr. Yor said the high committee had already received a complaint from one political party that accused security force personnel of tearing down its posters in Malakal earlier this month.

"I hope the election security committee will resolve the problem soon," said Mr. Yor.

Michelle Silva of the EAD unit in Malakal said that a sudden deterioration in security conditions could hinder ongoing preparations for the voting.

"If there is any clash, it will affect movement, especially on the distribution of (election) materials," she said.

But Mr. Yor of the state high committee does not foresee any major difficulties that might jeopardize the long-awaited general election later this year.

"I'm optimistic that the election in Upper Nile State and the whole of Sudan shall take place as planned," he said. "Everything is under control."