Sudan’s April elections won’t get donor support

KHARTOUM, Wednesday

International donors have refused to finance Sudanese elections set for April, the country’s national Election commission (NEC) has disclosed.

Talking at a press conference in Khartoum, the NEC Chairman Mokhtar Al-Asam revealed that they were denied funding from foreign institutions such as the Carter Centre and the United Nations because they rejected their conditions that encroach on the country’s pride.

Among these conditions was a request to tour the country and meet with opposition parties to ensure that they are willing to participate in the elections.

He said: “This is unacceptable because elections is a constitutional entitlement we turned it down because they want to dictate orders and evaluate the environment and place their footprints and this affects the dignity of Sudan.”

Mr Al-Asam also revealed that eight international groups want to monitor the elections and 176 local ones.

He further announced that 15 candidates will run for presidency in the elections, including President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

The NEC published the lists of candidates for all electoral levels and will begin accepting any appeals from the public and parties to any of the names.
“Six of the presidential candidates are running on party tickets while all the others are running as independents, three prospective nominees were excluded but they still have the right to appeal” Mr Al-Asam added.

Most Sudanese opposition parties announced their boycott of the coming elections, describing it as an “isolated process.”

However the Sudanese ministry of interior has warned that it will not allow chaos during the balloting phase.

Meanwhile, six Bulgarians working on contract for the UN were being held today by rebels in southern Sudan after their helicopter was forced to land, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said.

The UN-marked helicopter was flying from South Sudan to the Sudanese capital Khartoum for maintenance on Monday when it made an “unexpected landing” in the southern Sudanese region of South Kordofan, the WFP said.

The six were being held by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N), which has been fighting the Khartoum government since South Sudan split from Sudan in 2011, the Bulgarian foreign ministry said.

The reasons for the landing were unclear. “We are working to try and make sure they are released as soon as possible. The indications we have had is that they are well. We are hopeful they will be released quite soon,” WFP spokeswoman Jane Howard said.

She added that there was “no reason to think” that the six — working for the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), a WFP-run operation providing air support to aid groups — were kidnapped.

By MOHAMMED AMIN NATION Correspondent and Agencies