Global Issues
SUDAN: Problems Lead to Extension of Vote
Voting in Sudan - the first democratic elections in 24 years - has been extended by three days by the National Election Commission in response to widespread problems with voters' lists and ballot papers.
The elections are being boycotted by opposition parties citing continuing insecurity in the western region of Darfur and allegations of electoral irregularities by the President Omar al-Bashir's National Congress Party.
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies released a statement charging the elections commission of with numerous violations of electoral procedure. These included problems with ballot papers, candidates appearing on papers in more than one constitutency; voters being unable to find their names on lists and election observers in at least one case being denied entry to voting centres.
The ACPJS, which had called for postponement of the elections, also pointed out afresh that voters in vast areas of Darfur were unable to register to vote due to the presence of hostile security forces in towns and displaced persons camps.
Since conflict erupted in Darfur in 2003, more than 300,000 people have been killed and over one million people displaced by the conflict, according to United Nations estimates. Bashir has been indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Ummah Party, led by former Sudanese Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, which draws its main support from that region withdrew from the elections.
The most important opposition party, the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM), one of the parties to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended more than two decades of civil war between north and south and set up this election, withdrew its presidential candidate and has declined to contest elections outside of its stronghold in the south of the country.
Across Southern Sudan, ballot papers have arrived late or in insufficient quantities; in some places election officials have had to halt voting upon realising they were using the wrong papers. As Bashir heads for an expected victory, the attention of southern voters and leadership is directed towards the referendum on independence planned for January 2011.
A flawed election should prove no impediment to the dream of an independent South Sudan and will strengthen Bashir's position as he continues to ignore the ICC indictment against him. Where it leaves the people of Darfur and those northerners who want to see change in the North is less sure.
Listen to an audio report on the vote from South Sudan here: http://is.gd/bq68R (mp3)
© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service