Support for Sudan Elections

Pray. Teach. Partner. Urge. Give.

As we prepare to send this update, Sudan is more than halfway through what is now a 5-day voting process in regional and national elections. Slated for April 11-13, the elections have proved too problematic to be completed in 3 days; yesterday the National Election Commission announced a 2-day extension. The problems encountered have been as expected: no ballots at poll-opening time, the wrong ballots at some polls, candidates' names missing from ballots, long waits to vote, names missing from voting registers, balloting fraud of various types, such as the easy removal of the "indelible" green ink used to mark individuals after voting or individuals caught with multiple voter registration cards. Serious accusations of widespread fraud and misconduct abound as well, along with criticism of some international monitors.

Reaction around the world ranges from excoriation of the process -- and the Western governments and NGOs that have tacitly allowed it to proceed -- to approbation of the progress Sudan has made since the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, but all agree that Omar al-Bashir and Salva Kiir will retain their positions, and few are warning that there are likely to be immediate violent consequences of the elections.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8616249.stm

For a list of stories on the elections as they emerge: www.sudantribune.com

For another: http://www.sudaneseonline.com/