Sudan president meets with electoral commission
February 18, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir met today with members of the commission tasked with preparing for the 2009 general elections.
Alier told reporters after the meeting that he briefed Al-Bashir on activities to date undertaken by the commission relating to its job structure, adopting the budget as well as contacting governmental and international organizations in this regard.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005 between the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) provided for elections to be held no later than July 2009 as part of a democratic transition in the country.
The commission’s deputy Abdallah Ahmed was cited by SUNA as saying that the formation of the secretariat is in its final stages.
He warned that the upcoming elections are more complex from the previous ones held since independence.
Ahmed urged political parties and civil society to raise awareness among the people on the elections.
However the two officials gave no specific date for the general elections amid wide skepticism that they can meet the July 2009 deadline.
Last year a UN consultative team of experts advised the semi-autonomous southern Sudan government to postpone the next year general elections to November 2009 till the end of rainy season in order to avoid the logistical complications.
Furthermore the results of the fifth Sudan Population and Housing Census have yet to be released. The constituencies are to be defined according to the number of population counted during the census
The NCP has rejected any delays and Sudanese officials have insisted that any logistical issues could be overcome.
The preparations for elections are clouded by an imminent arrest warrant expected to be issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Al-Bashir.
Bashir is the presidential nominee for the NCP and leading party figures insist that there will be no change in his candidacy in the event of an arrest warrant.
(ST)
Kur
Sudan president meets with electoral commission
We’re talking about the general elections in the country while millions of government workers in South Sudan are not being paid. This is another tactic to use the money to buy votes from the hungry population. However, what I know so far is that all evil plans will eventually fail, and those who have been cheating our people will someday pay for their crimes.
I am getting impatient with all this business of the ICC. It is taking too long to help us see the back of this evil dictator. Please we’re running out of patience because this man is still killing as many people as ever. Justice is the only hope for the oppressed. Delaying it brings more despair.
junub
Sudan president meets with electoral commission
Still thinking whether should I throw my vote into garbage bin, or to reserve until 2011 since my SPLM party seems to have trouble with disclosing its candidate.
manis
Sudan president meets with electoral commission
Any general elections before solving sudanese problem in Darfur and particitating all the sudanese will be illigimate and that goverment will not represent all the sudan,so the best way is to delate general elections until the sudanese proplem in Darfur to be solved.
Micheal Kerkuei
Sudan president meets with electoral commission
It takes me by surprise when I hear people talking about Sudan General Elections which are to be held this year. The fact they have not been scheduled for specific dates reveals a great degree of ambiguity. This reminds me of the 5th Sudan Population and Housing Census which was to be held, as stipulated in the CPA ,as early as November 2007, but was deliberately delayed to a point which was meant to favour one part-Khartoum.
The logistical complications the party in question is stressing on at this time will have a rather conflicting effect on the census results in that the South was not counted to completeness. There is no two ways about it, the Sudanese President is trying to use the same strategy to snatch the maroity votes during broad day light.
These elections should be held at the time every Sudanese who deserves the right to vote will access the polling station.
It appears there is a princilpe behind the deputy commision’s statement when he talks of the complexity of the forthcoming elections. What message is he trying to pass to the Sudanese people: vote rigging, favouritism, bribery, incomplete votes counts, just to mention a few
The electoral commission should watch out lest what happened in several African countries may surface in Sudan.
Nakedu Mura
Sudan president meets with electoral commission
Dear my fellow southerners,
I really appreciate and thank YOU ALL for Knowing your real leaders IN AND OUT! There is much benefit in that.
keep it up. As our usual story goes, ‘the most Dangerous’ enemy of us is our black brother who call him/herself a ‘black arab’ who betrays and expose our utmost secrets to the enemy for the intent of wiping and destroying us,our cultures,languages and beliefs,for sake of material gain but we forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.so we CAN forgive H.E Abel Alier for what he did to us the southerners.we forgive and forget and gather our energies for the future challenges.
Thanks.
Makeer
Sudan president meets with electoral commission
Guys, stop buck passing. Abel Alier is not a problem to Southerners but a healer to Sudanese’s problems. Better respect a man with white hair like Alier, or you will not grow white hair in your head. please, do not let your little knowledge for Sudanese politics vent your anger upon clean bodies. We better call spade spade. According to CPA, Sudanese National election is to take place in July, 2009. Rainy season in the South is not considered by the CPA, right? CPA is being turndown, Census result are being fabricated, no border demarcation yet, ABC is placed in dustbins, no money being wired to southerners accounts, could Alier be blamed for such failures. Beshire as the president has constitutional and CPA rights to elect electoral commissions. Kiir as the vice president and the president of Southern Sudan has automatic, constitutional and CPA rights to reject or endorse Beshire choice. In this case, our president Kiir with his team has wholeheartedly endorsed electoral commission headed by Abel Alier. So, who are you here to shout your naivety to the public.
And if we are so active enough, we better focus our attention onto the SPLM preparation about elections. Upto date, none of you is aware whether or not the SPLM would go it separate way as a party, or remained intack in coalition with the NCP…