Sudan poll fails to meet global standards: EU
Sudanese National Elections Commission staff empty ballot boxes before the start of vote counting at a polling station in Sudan's capital Khartoum, April 16, 2010. A senior member of Sudan's ruling party on Thursday accused opposition groups of plotting to reject election results and sow chaos in order to overthrow the government through a "popular revolution". Photo/REUTERS
KHARTOUM, Saturday
Sudan’s first multi-party elections in 24 years failed to meet all international standards, European Union observers said on Saturday in the first official judgement on the poll.
Final results in the presidential and legislative elections are due out on Tuesday, although incumbent president Omar Hassan al-Bashir is widely expected to win after most of his rivals boycotted the proceedings, accusing his ruling party of fraud.
“These elections have struggled to reach international standards. They have not reached them all,” the head of the EU observer mission in Sudan Veronique de Keyser told reporters.
Opposition cries foul
And Sudan’s opposition said on Friday there had been widespread fraud in the country’s first open elections in 24 years and it would never accept results showing extensive victories by the ruling party.
Many opposition parties boycotted the presidential, legislative and gubernatorial elections before voting even began, accusing President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s party of trying to rig the votes, which aim to transform the oil producer into a democracy after decades of civil war.
But the few parties that participated in the complex elections said the preliminary reports of results from party agents observing the count were beyond belief. Results have not been officially announced. “I was expecting there was going to be fraud but not to this extent,” said presidential candidate Abdelaziz Khaled.
“I’m amazed. This is chaos -- this is not an election.” The largest opposition party to enter the elections, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said it was getting reports of irregularities from all over Africa’s largest country.
“Everything is totally corrupt. We are fed up and we will never recognise these elections,” the DUP’s Salah al-Basha said. Prior to the vote, he said the party was sure to win the governorships of at least six states. On Friday he said it looked to have won none.
No one was available to comment officially from Bashir’s ruling National Congress Party, but one member told Reuters the opposition were trying to cover up their loss. “All losing parties say this,” he said, but declined to be named.
