• by IPS Correspondents (khartoum/juba, south sudan)
• Monday, April 19, 2010
• Inter Press Service

Poor access to telephone networks and lack of roads in some areas of South Sudan is delaying the submission of voting results to the election commission.

Talking to Bakhita Radio on Apr. 19, Jersa Kide Barnaba, Southern Sudan High Elections Committee spokesperson, said most centres in the region have completed counting. She added that some areas were not able to communicate the final results to the State High Committee due to lack of telephone networks.

Kide said election materials will be retrieved by air on Apr. 20 from states like Eastern Equatoria and Western Equatoria - regions not easily accessible by road.

The high elections committees are responsible for organising and conducting the elections in their states in accordance with the National Elections Commission (NEC). They will submit the final results to the NEC.

The NEC has given all 25 high election committees a 'deadline' of Apr. 19 to complete the counting of ballots. Results are required to be submitted no later than Apr. 20. The commission has said the final results of the elections will be announced on Apr. 22 in Khartoum.

The NEC has already announced the names of 27 candidates who won elections by default (unanimous votes).

Meanwhile, reports from South Sudan suggest that the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) candidate for the post of the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit and other SPLM candidates have won the majority votes in the 10 southern States.

Reports on the presidential race suggest that president incumbent and presidential candidate of the ruling National Congress Party, Omar al-Bashir, is leading nationwide.

However, the Carter Center says Sudan’s elections have 'fallen short' of international standards due to major flaws committed during the polling process across the country.

Addressing a news conference in Khartoum on Apr. 17, the former U.S. President and the Founder of the Carter Center, Jimmy Carter, said 'people’s expectations' were not met during the electoral process.

'As I said it is too early to make a final judgment, it is obvious that these elections have fallen short of international standards,' Carter said.

He added that some voters were intimidated by electoral officials at polling stations.

'Quite often the many illiterate voters who came were confronted with polling officials who, in the presence of our observers, tried to convince that voter to choose the candidate of the polling official’s choice. This was obvious to us and it was a very serious violation of the rule,' Carter said.

The NEC responded calling Carter’s statement 'premature' because votes were still being counted.

The European Union Election Observation Missions chief observer, Veronique de Keyser, agreed with Carter. 'These elections have struggled to reach international standards. They have not reached them at all,' she said.

De Keyser also said 'there have been some significant deficiencies, including logistical problems and intimidation.'

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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