Sudan delays polls for two days
Apr 12, 2010
SUDAN'S national election commission said yesterday it was extending voting for two days after logistical problems marred the beginning of the country’s first competitive elections in 24 years.
KHARTOUM
SUDAN'S national election commission said yesterday it was extending voting for two days after logistical problems marred the beginning of the country’s first competitive elections in 24 years.
“The number of voting days has been extended by two further days in all of Sudan†from three days to five, NEC spokesman Salah Habib told AFP.
Earlier top election monitor Jimmy Carter said in the south Sudan capital Juba there was “not much doubt†polling would be extended after a chaotic start on Sunday prompted cries of foul play and forced officials to admit “mistakesâ€.
“There were some serious problems with the election process in some voting places where voters had difficult finding their names,†Carter told reporters.
“In some cases, wrong ballots were sent to other places in southern Sudan,†the former US president said after visiting about 20 polling stations and meeting south Sudan leader Salva Kiir.
Sudanese nationwide are voting for president as well as for legislative and local representatives in the country’s first multi-party elections since 1986.
Southerners are also voting for the leader of the semi-autonomous government of south Sudan.
The second day of polling yesterday appeared to proceed generally smoothly.
Queues, one for men, one for women, formed in stifling heat at voting stations in central Khartoum even before polling opened.
On Sunday, both the queues and tempers were short as electoral officials battled with logistical problems, inadequate or incorrect voting material and irate voters who could not find their names on the lists.
Officials said much of Sudan was calm on day two, although some problems were reported in a few areas.
An AFP correspondent said some outlying districts of Juba were still awaiting voting material yesterday, despite assurances they were on the way.
Party officials, meanwhile, said while voting had finally begun in some villages in the eastern area of Kassala, the locations of some polling stations were changed without notice.
Several sources said tension was mounting in the state of Bahr al-Ghazal in the south where an independent candidate’s popularity appeared to threaten the seat of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) candidate.
Police, however, yesterday said there had been no major incidents linked to the poll.
Complaints linked to voting procedures on Sunday compounded question marks about the credibility of an election from which key candidates had already withdrawn ahead of polling day citing fraud.
AFP
SUDAN'S national election commission said yesterday it was extending voting for two days after logistical problems marred the beginning of the country’s first competitive elections in 24 years.
“The number of voting days has been extended by two further days in all of Sudan†from three days to five, NEC spokesman Salah Habib told AFP.
Earlier top election monitor Jimmy Carter said in the south Sudan capital Juba there was “not much doubt†polling would be extended after a chaotic start on Sunday prompted cries of foul play and forced officials to admit “mistakesâ€.
“There were some serious problems with the election process in some voting places where voters had difficult finding their names,†Carter told reporters.
“In some cases, wrong ballots were sent to other places in southern Sudan,†the former US president said after visiting about 20 polling stations and meeting south Sudan leader Salva Kiir.
Sudanese nationwide are voting for president as well as for legislative and local representatives in the country’s first multi-party elections since 1986.
Southerners are also voting for the leader of the semi-autonomous government of south Sudan.
The second day of polling yesterday appeared to proceed generally smoothly.
Queues, one for men, one for women, formed in stifling heat at voting stations in central Khartoum even before polling opened.
On Sunday, both the queues and tempers were short as electoral officials battled with logistical problems, inadequate or incorrect voting material and irate voters who could not find their names on the lists.
Officials said much of Sudan was calm on day two, although some problems were reported in a few areas.
An AFP correspondent said some outlying districts of Juba were still awaiting voting material yesterday, despite assurances they were on the way.
Party officials, meanwhile, said while voting had finally begun in some villages in the eastern area of Kassala, the locations of some polling stations were changed without notice.
Several sources said tension was mounting in the state of Bahr al-Ghazal in the south where an independent candidate’s popularity appeared to threaten the seat of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) candidate.
Police, however, yesterday said there had been no major incidents linked to the poll.
Complaints linked to voting procedures on Sunday compounded question marks about the credibility of an election from which key candidates had already withdrawn ahead of polling day citing fraud.
AFP