THE Sudanese embassy in Uganda has started registering Sudanese living in Uganda, ahead of their 2010 elections.
The ambassador, Hussein Awad Ali, said the exercise which started yesterday would be completed at the end of this month.
“To qualify for registration, one must hold a Sudanese passport, be above 18 years, and reside in Uganda,” Awad said.
He added that those without passports should register with the embassy and receive a certificate of nationality and later a passport.
Awad said the registration was taking place at the embassy’s office in Nakasero and conducted by the officials of the National Elections Commission from Khartoum.
He estimated about 4,000 Sudanese residing in Uganda, all above 18 years.
The Sudan government opened voter registration centres in three sub-Saharan countries which were previously left out by the commission.
Another centre has also opened in Malaysia, bringing the countries identified by the National Election Commission to 14.
On Monday, hundreds of Sudanese nationals living in Kenya thronged the country’s embassy in Nairobi to beat the November 30 deadline.
Awad also disclosed that the embassy had started sensitising Sudanese in Uganda about the election guidelines and their right to vote.
Two weeks ago, the government of Southern Sudan had threatened to boycott elections if certain conditions were not fulfilled.
One of the conditions was opening up registration centres in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Congo-Brazaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which have many Sudanese.
A list of eligible countries initially distributed to missions abroad included Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, the UK, Belgium and the USA. Awad appealed to Sudanese in Uganda to register and participate in the election.
